MADRID: It would take a world record €250 million ($294 million) fee to land the in-form Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez said.
The English striker’s 13 goals in 12 games this season has sparked rumors that he could be the latest star to swap Spurs for Spain, following in the footsteps of Luka Modric and Gareth Bale.
However, having had his fingers burned in paying a then world record €100 million for Bale in 2013, Perez is wary of trying to negotiate with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.
“I think he is a magnificent player and, moreover, he is young with many years ahead of him to progress,” Perez told Spanish radio station Cadena Cope after attending FIFA’s annual awards.
And Perez believes Levy’s reputation for delaying moves until late in the transfer window to get the best possible deal means he would want more than the €222 million Paris Saint-Germain paid to snatch Neymar from Barcelona in August.
“No (I haven’t asked the price) because if I ask, he will tell me 250 million,” Perez added. “We have made friends with Tottenham over the time it took to sign Luka Modric and Gareth Bale as with the two of them we ended up signing them on the final day of the window.
“We ended up having a good friendship and he (Levy) always says to me when we win the European Cup: ‘Thanks for winning the European Cup with my players’.”
While Real dominated the FIFA awards on Monday night (see story below) and have dominated Spanish and European footbal over the past 12 months, they were unable to get the better of Kane’s Spurs in their 1-1 Champions League draw at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.
And Kane will have another chance to show the Spanish giants what they are missing when the sides meet again on Nov. 1 at Wembley with top spot in Group H at stake.
Only Lionel Messi, with 50, has scored more goals for club and country than Kane (45) this year, while the striker has 37 goals in his last 36 Premier League games.
Move over Neymar: Kane would cost $294 million, claims Real boss Perez
Move over Neymar: Kane would cost $294 million, claims Real boss Perez
Cambodia pulls out of SEA Games in Thailand over border conflict
- At least 11 soldiers and civilians have been killed on both sides, according to officials, as renewed hostilities derailed a US-brokered truce
- Cambodia had already pulled out of eight sports at the Thailand-hosted Games, but National Olympic Committee of Cambodia chief Vath Chamroeun wrote in a letter Wednesday to the Southeast Asian Games Federation that it would bring all of the country’s athl
BANGKOK: Cambodia withdrew on Wednesday from the Southeast Asian Games, an Olympic official said, as a border conflict with hosts Thailand escalated and forced a mass exodus of civilians from both sides of the disputed frontier.
At least 11 soldiers and civilians have been killed on both sides, according to officials, as renewed hostilities derailed a US-brokered truce.
Cambodia had already pulled out of eight sports at the Thailand-hosted Games, but National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC) chief Vath Chamroeun wrote in a letter Wednesday to the Southeast Asian Games Federation that it would bring all of the country’s athletes home.
“Due to serious concerns and requests from the families of our athletes to have their relatives return home immediately, NOCC must withdraw all of our delegation and arrange for their prompt return to Cambodia for safety reasons,” he wrote.
The Games officially opened on Tuesday and run until Dec. 20 in Bangkok and the nearby coastal province of Chonburi, with thousands of athletes from southeast Asian countries competing in events ranging from football and fencing to skateboarding, sailing and combat sports.
But renewed fighting this week between Thailand and Cambodia over a long-standing border dispute has overshadowed the Games.
There was tightened security at Tuesday’s opening ceremony at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok attended by Thai royals and featuring Thai K-pop idol BamBam.
A small delegation from Cambodia took part in the athletes’ parade.
This week’s clashes are the deadliest since five days of fighting in July that killed dozens before a shaky truce was agreed, in large part owing to intervention by US President Donald Trump.
Both sides blame each other for sparking the renewed clashes, which on Tuesday expanded to five provinces of both Thailand and Cambodia, according to an AFP tally of official accounts.
More than 500,000 people have fled their homes to safety in Thailand and Cambodia since the conflict reignited, both governments said on Wednesday, surpassing the total number evacuated during similar clashes earlier this year.
The dispute centers on a century-old disagreement over borders mapped during France’s colonial rule in the region, with both sides claiming a smattering of boundary temples.
