ERIC DIER feared he would never lift silverware — before finally winning the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich.
The centre-half and pal Harry Kane, both 31, have been on similar journeys after suffering painful losses with Spurs before both celebrated hoisting the plate-like German championship trophy on Saturday.
GettyFamily man Eric Dier celebrated title glory with wife Anna Modler[/caption]
GettyHarry Kane and Dier marked the occasion their trophy drought ended[/caption]
But now they will be going their separate ways.
For while England captain Kane will remain at Bayern for a third season, Dier is joining French giants Monaco this summer.
But the defender has loved his 18 months in Bavaria where he has played 47 games — and due to his good form he has not given up hope of getting an England recall.
Dier said: “To win a trophy feels good and it feels better than anyone has ever described.
“Obviously, it’s been a long time coming. The longer you go, the more you wonder if it’ll happen.
“And I think that is normal, especially when you have close calls and you don’t get it.
“I think back a lot to the first season at Spurs when we were in the Carabao Cup final in 2015 and we lost that.
“There are always a lot of ‘what-ifs’ in your life and your career.
“And if I had got a trophy that early on, then who knows what would have happened.
GettyDier is bowing out of Bayern on a huge high[/caption]
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“But it doesn’t matter now, I’ve got it. It’s been an amazing year. Being in an environment where you learn how to win and what it takes to do it, does help.
“There’s an aspect of relief that you’ve finally done it.
“It’s a huge weight off my shoulders in that sense but obviously it is not about me or any individual, it’s a huge collective effort.”
Dier followed Kane from Spurs in January 2024, initially on loan before signing a one-year deal.
So has it felt sweeter to finally win silverware with his buddy?
He said: “Yes, for me to win it with Harry is incredibly special.
“We’ve played together since we were 20 and in the England national teams before that.
“We were together when we officially won it the other night and that was a special moment for us.”
Dier received a presentation ahead of Saturday’s 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach before the club paid tribute to legend Thomas Muller, who is leaving Bayern after 25 years at the club.
Bayern did offer Dier a one-year extension but he has chosen to move to Monaco, where he has agreed a two-year deal.
Dier, who started his career with Sporting Lisbon before spending a decade at Spurs, said: “We had good conversations with the club but just couldn’t find an agreement so then I started to look at what I thought would be the best opportunity for myself.
Monaco really, really wanted me and I appreciated that. They made all the effort.
Eric Dier
“Now I’m very excited. You don’t have regrets but when you’re in one place for a long time, you don’t realise the big world out there.
“Football is very big in lots of different countries and you can learn a lot just by moving around and into different cultures, different types of football, different leagues — so I think it’ll do me good.
“Monaco really, really wanted me and I appreciated that.
“They made all the effort for me to go there so I’m talking about it but I don’t think it’s official yet!”
Dier has 49 England caps but his last appearance was against Senegal at the 2022 World Cup.
Asked if he could feature under new Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel, he said: “I hope so. I think I’m playing my best football.”
Meanwhile, like Kane, Dier will be rooting for Tottenham in the Europa League final against Manchester United on May 21.
He added: “It will be incredible and I still know a lot of the players and so much of the staff.
“So I’d be incredibly happy for them to win and for the club.”
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