Real Madrid are lining up a massive £100 million move for Harry Kane this summer, with Man United also making him their No 1 transfer target.
On the face of it, it has to be Real Madrid.
Decisions don’t come more straightforward. Imagine as a striker of Kane’s calibre you have Vinicius Jnr and Rodrygo, Brazil’s next big superstars, on either side of you. Jude Bellingham, Luka Modric and Aurelian Tchouameni behind you.
Carlo Ancelotti, the man with the blueprint for winning the Champions League, bossing you. The love of the fans, the lavish lifestyle, the chance to fill the hallowed boots of Karim Benzema, the domestic rivalry with Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.
And all that before you get anywhere near the money. And yet…
Manchester United and that all-time Premier League record sit tantalisingly within touching distance. For serial thrillers of the noughties such as Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero, Alan Shearer’s 260-goal landmark represented a desert mirage they ultimately couldn’t reach. For Kane, on 213 goals, it is two or three seasons away.
If he could smash 30 Premier League goals in that shocking Spurs team over the season just gone, he could easily establish himself as the most prolific striker the Premier League has ever seen with Marcus Rashford and a rejuvenated Jadon Sancho either side of him. Also with Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro behind him. With reinforcements on the way and, in Erik ten Hag, a winner. A coach who has changed the club culture and lifted silverware already in his first season.
Yes, City remain the dominant force in English football right now. But Barca have just finished ten points clear of Real in the Spanish title race. City are better than all of them in Europe too.
And, much as we like to think players take decisions based solely on football, Kane has family considerations to take into account. Would his wife want the upheaval of moving to Spain with their young family? It wouldn’t be difficult to learn a new language and to adapt to a new culture. Millions of players do exactly that all over the world. But would the Kane family want to?
Kane might want to ask Bale. The Welshman and his family made it work and would have valuable advice to pass on, not just in terms of how to make it work but also how to execute his Tottenham endgame. Come on, a parting of the ways is best for both parties.
Either way, Kane is set to move from watching the biggest, most ambitious clubs winning silverware with his nose pressed up against the glass – to actually playing for one of them.
For once there is no wrong answer. But surely he will want to keep it Real.