"I'm very happy for Harry Kane and Bayern Munich. His season was world-class. Harry is a role model on and off the pitch. Every young player can look up to him," Salihamidzic said in an interview with Sky/RTL.
Kane was "not just an ice-cold goalscorer. He puts himself at the service of the team, he can play the killer pass, he tracks back." Germany coach Jürgen Klopp, however, recently made a puzzling comment questioning the point of Kane playing in a deeper role.
Yet Kane's "quarterback" positioning did nothing to slow his scoring rate. The Englishman also stood out as a leader and role model in his remarkable 2025/26 season (73 goals in 65 games). On Monday evening, he deservedly won the most coveted individual award in world football.
In the end, Kane narrowly beat Kylian Mbappe in the vote of 100 eligible specialist journalists. According to France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia, Mbappe had still led the ranking just a few weeks before the decision. Lamine Yamal finished third. Kane is the first Ballon d'Or winner from the German record champions since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in 1981.
"Everyone who loves Bayern Munich is delighted that a player like him plays for this club. It's a privilege to watch him. Hopefully he stays at Bayern Munich for a very long time," Salihamidzic enthused.
Salihamidzic wants Kane to win the Champions League
Their spells at Bayern Munich did not quite overlap. The 33-year-old star striker arrived in Munich in the summer of 2023. A few months earlier, Bayern Munich had relieved "Brazzo" of his duties as sporting director on the day of the 2022/23 season finale. Unlike CEO Oliver Kahn, who was also dismissed, Salihamidzic still travelled with the team to Cologne and celebrated their last-minute German league title win there.
By May, Salihamidzic had settled matters with his former club, especially honorary president Uli Hoeneß, as he revealed during an appearance on Doppelpass on Sport1. At first, "I had my problems because I was genuinely so emotionally invested. That's why it perhaps took me a little longer to recover from it," Salihamidzic said. But he had talked things through with Hoeneß over a game of Schafkopf. "He also apologised to me after two hours. So, as far as I'm concerned, that's settled. I'm glad I was able to play and work for this club," the Bosnian said at the time.
Salihamidzic still wishes Bayern Munich nothing but the best. "Brazzo" has one final task for Kane at Bayern Munich, one the star striker has yet to complete: Kane should "bring the Champions League back to Munich".
At Monday evening's gala in London, Kane himself named winning the Champions League with Bayern and a title with the England national team as his last major goals and made them his absolute priority.
Back in May, Salihamidzic announced he would return to professional football. The 49-year-old said he was "ready" for a new job but left open exactly what he had in mind. He still has no official role at a new club.
Getty Images