“You can’t have your cake and eat it.”
Roy Keane believes that Harry Kane made a crucial mistake in his quest to leave Tottenham Hotspur. The former Manchester United captain feels that Kane was wrong to not push for a release clause to be included in the six-year contract he signed in 2018.
Without the clause, Keane believes Kane has little bargaining power and now simply must get on with his career until Spurs say otherwise.
Roy Keane: Spurs will decide if and when Harry Kane can leave.
Keane said he understood why Kane wanted to leave Spurs for Premier League champions Manchester City. However, the Irishman argued that it wasn’t for the player to put a price on himself, and it was for Tottenham to determine.
“I think with Harry – there’s nothing wrong with a player wanting to leave a club and better himself, we all do that in life, surely, we all want better things in life for ourselves and our family,” Keane said on the Overlap’s preview of the Premier League season.
“But also for Harry to put a price on himself, you go, ‘Listen, you did sign the deal’ – I don’t think he’s on five grand a week at Tottenham. He’s on a good deal.
“And Man City, if they’re speaking to his brother, his agent, and they want to do the deal, then let them do the deal. If Man City really want you (they’ll make a bid)…
“From Spurs’ point of view, and again we’re just guessing, if Spurs have almost said to him, ‘Listen, if something comes in for you, yeah we’ll have a look at it.’
“And they might have said that last year, a bit of a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ – whatever that means. But it depends on the offer, that’s up to Spurs.”
Roy Keane: Harry Kane made a mistake by not including a release clause in his contract.
Keane also argued that Kane, or his representatives, made a mistake by not including a transfer release clause in the player’s contract. The England captain has three years remaining on his deal, which was signed in 2018. If he had a release clause, and Man City met the price, then Spurs would be powerless to stop him from leaving.
Keane and Jack Grealish were both signed after clubs triggered their release clauses. Man United signed Keane for a British record fee in 1993 and Man City signed Grealish ahead of the new season for a British record fee.
“We go back to Grealish, Grealish had a clause in his contract – obviously, it was 100 million,” Keane said.
“I done it when I was at Nottingham Forest, I signed a contract that had a clause if we got relegated that I could leave for 3.5 million. It’s clean. It’s straightforward. That was back then. I know in the Spanish league I think it’s in every player’s contract…”
Gary Neville: “Who put it in your contract?”
“I did,” Keane responded.
Neville: “That was smart.”
Keane: “It was smart. I’m a smart guy. I am, believe it or not.”
“So, when Forest got relegated, I could leave for that figure but it was after the first of September, that’s why United dragged their heels for 250 grand and it was 3.75 million.”
“But Harry… You can’t have your cake and eat it. Gary keeps saying, ‘He’s a great lad and we don’t know the ins and outs of it’. I think the great lads still get on with their training.
“Is Harry going to give all the money that he got back to Spurs for the last few years? You can’t say to a club ‘I want to sign a contract for £200,000 per week, but next year I want to head away and I’ll dictate the transfer fee’.”
You can watch the full debate below. The section on Kane begins at around the 43 minute mark.
(Originally published on August 17).
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