Eric Dier feared that he would never lift silverware – before he finally won the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich.
The center of the center and Pal Harry Kane, both 31, have had similar journeys after painful losses to suffer before both have celebrated the plate -like trophy of the German championship on Saturday.
But now they will go their own way.
Because while the English Captain Kane stays in Bayern for a third season, Dier will come to the French Giants Monaco this summer.
But the defender held his 18 months in Bavaria, where he played 47 games – and because of his good form he did not give up the hope of getting a recall in England.
Dier said: “Winning a trophy feels good and it feels better than anyone has ever described.
“It is clear that it has come for a long time. The longer you go, the more you wonder if it will happen.
“And I think that's normal, especially if you have close phone calls and you don't get it.
“I think a lot back to the first season at Spurs when we were in the Carabao Cup final in 2015 and we lost that.
“There are always many 'what-IFS' in your life and your career.” And if I had a trophy early, who knows what would have happened.
“But it doesn't matter now, I have had it. It has been a great year. Being in an environment where you learn how to win and what is needed to do it helps.
“There is an aspect of relief that you finally did it.
“In that sense it is a huge weight of my shoulders, but it is clearly not about me or an individual, it is a huge collective effort.”
Dier followed Spurs in January 2024, initially on loan before he signed a one -year -old deal.
So is it sweeter to finally win silverware with his buddy?
He said: “Yes, for me to win it with Harry is incredibly special.
“We have played together since we were 20 and before that in the national teams of England.
“We were together when we recently officially won it and that was a special moment for us.”
Dier received a presentation prior to Saturday's 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach before the club tributed to the legend Thomas Muller, who leaves Bayern to the club after 25 years.
Bayern offered an extension of a year, but he has chosen to move to Monaco, where he has agreed a two -year deal.
Dier, who started his career at Sporting Lisbon before spending a decade at Spurs for a decade, said: “We had good conversations with the club, but just couldn't find an agreement, so I started looking at what I thought would be the best chance for myself.
“Now I am very excited. You have no regrets, but if you are in one place for a long time, you will not realize the big world.
“Football is very large in many different countries and you can learn a lot by just moving and in different cultures, different types of football, different competitions – so I think it will do me well.
“Monaco really wanted me, really me and I appreciated that.
“They have made every effort to go there, so I am talking about it, but I think it is not yet official!”
Dier has 49 England caps, but his last performance was against Senegal at the World Cup 2022.
Asked if he could perform under new Three Lions -Baas Thomas Tuchel, he said, “I hope so I think I play my best football.”
In the meantime, just like Kane, on May 21 on May 21 for Tottenham Rooten in the Europa League final against Manchester United.
He added: “It will be incredible and I still know a lot of the players and so many staff.
“So I would be incredibly happy to win and for the club.”