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Harry Kane received a hilarious apology from the German media after scoring his second hat-trick of the season and his fifth goal in a week.
The Bayern Munich striker claimed another matchball after taking his tally to eight in four Bundesliga games in a 4-1 win over Hoffenheim.
Overall, the England captain is just two goals shy of a century in 103 appearances for the club since moving from Tottenham in 2023.
Kane found himself under scrutiny in both his home country and Germany when he joined Bayern in a deal worth an initial £82million.
Michael Owen questioned the forward’s decision to quit the Premier League when he was just 48 goals short of breaking Alan Shearer’s all-time scoring record.
Meanwhile, German media were also among the sceptics,.
doubting whether Kane was worth the club-record fee Bayern shelled out for him at 30 years old, and having yet to have won a major trophy.
However, while Owen has since doubled down on his views, Bundesliga journalists have now at least issued a public apology.
BILD’s Alfred Draxler had even lobbied for Bayern to sign Niclas Fullkrug, who has scored just three Premier League goals in 22 appearances for West Ham, instead of Kane.
He wrote: “I was one of those who viewed the €100m transfer from Tottenham to Bayern Munich in 2023 rather critically.
“I thought: too much money for a then 30-year-old who had never won a title. There are cheaper options. Niclas Fullkrug, for example, had scored 16 goals for Werder Bremen the previous season.
“He’s [Kane’s] never injured! That’s not just luck. It speaks volumes about strict discipline and hard training.
“I don’t think Harry Kane is vacationing in a hotel where you have to reserve your lounger in the morning. If I ever meet him, I’d get up really early and put a towel on his lounger for him. I wouldn’t do that for any English person!”
Kane went into the clash at Hoffenheim having banged in a double in Wednesday’s 3-1 win against Chelsea in the Champions League.
In doing so, he overtook David Beckham as the Englishman with the most goal involvements in the European Cup.
On Saturday, the former Spurs player broke the deadlock in the 44th minute after rifling home a shot into the bottom corner.
He then helped himself to two penalties in the 48th minute and 77th minute respectively, with Serge Gnabry also netting in a 4-1 victory.
“Hat-trick Harry is what they called me in school,” Kane told DAZN after the match. “That one kind of stuck when I was younger.”
“Any ball in the box, whether penalty or not, I back myself to hit the target.”
German football expert Raphael Honigstein told talkSPORT earlier this month that both Kane and Bayern would soon have a decision to make over his future.
Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT on Hawksbee and Jacobs, he said: “It’s no big secret that people in Germany don’t expect Harry Kane to see out his career at Bayern.
“I think Bayern are braced for the possibility that he will leave slightly earlier than his contract, which runs until 2027.
“One way or the other, he and the club need to take a view on this fairly soon.
“They were pushing for somebody who can both be a backup and an understudy for Kane. They looked at Benjamin Sesko. They looked at Nick Woltemade – they ended up with Jackson, with an obligation to buy.
“This suggests Bayern are aware of the possibility that Kane might go in a year or two.
“But at the same time, he’s so good that anyone who comes in has to play around him.”
