Harry Kane is England’s all-time leading goalscorer, with 70 goals, after his latest strike against Albania in the early hours of 22 March. He is also the Bundesliga’s top scorer with 21 goals in 24 appearances for Bayern Munich this season, but believes people have become “bored” of his goals. Amid his fine form, striker Harry Kane says he can still win football’s most coveted individual award, the Ballon d’Or.
The Three Lions striker has been one of Europe’s top scorers over the past decade and is currently the top scorer in the German league. However, the Ballon d’Or has eluded Kane, with the former Tottenham man failing to finish higher than 10th in the poll throughout his career despite being widely regarded as one of Europe’s most prolific goalscorers.
Can he still hope to win the award for the rest of his career? “One hundred per cent,” said striker Harry Kane. “I felt the same way last season. I scored over 40 goals, but it was clear that I would never win the Ballon d’Or because we didn’t win the team trophy.
I felt that, probably at Spurs, no matter how many goals I scored, unless you won the Premier League and the Champions League, you wouldn’t be mentioned in those votes. I got 10th place in the Ballon d’Or when I was at Tottenham and that was probably the highest I could have got.
The opportunities are there. But what I want more is to be respected around the world, on the big stage. And to win the Ballon d’Or, you have to win enough team trophies, as well as scoring around 40 goals. That’s a possibility for me this season and certainly something I want to try to achieve.”
Kane is England’s all-time leading goalscorer, but he believes some fans may be “boring” with his consistency at the top of European football. Kane insists his time at the top is not over yet.
“When Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi put up crazy numbers and the next season they score 40 goals instead of 50,” Kane said, “it’s like they’re having a bad season. People take their brilliance for granted and maybe England do too. I’ve scored 69 goals and when I score against Albania or Latvia, or teams like this, people just take it for granted, so they don’t talk about it.
If I was 25 now and doing what I’m doing, the excitement around me might be a little different. That’s part of the current football situation. I’ve seen it with some other players when they get into their 30s. Maybe people just get a little bored with what I do, but I’m definitely not bored.”
Bayern are six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga after 26 games, while Kane has scored an incredible 76 goals in 82 appearances for the Bavarians. However, despite his impressive goalscoring form, some fans in Germany believe the former Spurs star has yet to make a big enough impact.
Striker Harry Kane admits it’s hard to blame them, while also stressing that he is his own harshest critic: “Criticism sometimes motivates me. When I was younger, I heard more than I do now. In the end, I blame myself more than anyone else, and I always use it as motivation to prove people wrong.
I’ve been through a lot, from not scoring in a few games, to people saying I wasn’t sharp enough, to scoring and being considered a candidate for the Ballon d’Or. I know what I’ve done in my career and I feel like I’ve earned a lot of respect from a lot of people in football. I’ve achieved a lot in my career.”
