‘Be hungry or go somewhere else’ – Harry Kane & Bayern Munich team-mates get brutal future warning from manager Vincent Kompany

Former Belgium international Kompany knows what it takes to compete at the very highest level, having become a talismanic leader during his playing days at Manchester City. He helped to usher in an era of domestic dominance at the Etihad Stadium.

At 38 years of age, and having previously spent time in the dugout at Anderlecht and Burnley, Kompany is now charged with the task of delivering on expectations at German giants Bayern. He has them top of the Bundesliga table and into the last-16 of the Champions League, but even that has not been enough to prevent questions being asked of his future.

Kompany is determined to succeed at the Allianz Arena and has pointed out to those at his disposal that they need to commit fully to his vision for the club. The most demanding of characters has told FIFA’s official website when asked how he motivates a star-studded squad that includes prolific England captain Kane: “Be hungry or go somewhere else. It’s very simple.”

Kompany added on why the pressure of managing Bayern is relatively easy for him to contend with: “I've always been involved in football in high demanding places. With Anderlecht, in the 1980s and 1990s, we were amongst the best youth teams in Europe. We would beat any big European team. We always had that pressure from the age of six years old: of winning, playing well, behaving a certain way. So, by the time I arrived at top level football, that was already a big part of me.

“It continued at Manchester City, of course, where we had the highest ambitions as well. To then become the coach of Bayern, it was actually something very familiar for me. I didn't enter an environment I didn’t understand, I entered an environment I grew up in.”

Kompany appears set to deliver star striker Kane with the first major silverware of his career in 2024-25. The former Tottenham frontman has registered 29 goals through 33 appearances this season, but it remains to be seen whether he works under Kompany for longer than one full campaign.