Harry Kane is set to become the tenth player to earn 100 England caps but has hailed ‘exceptional’ ‘Cristiano Ronaldo as his inspiration to earn more in the coming years.
The 31-year-old Bayern Munich striker watched Ronaldo score his 901st senior career goal for Portugal as they beat Scotland 2-1 on Sunday.
Kane, who is also England’s leading all-time goalscorer with 66 goals, said ahead of Tuesday night’s Nations League match against Finland that Ronaldo has shown him that he can go on for many more years to come.
“I feel in really good shape,” said Kane, who has 419 senior career goals for club and country. “I feel both physically and mentally, you know, at a peak in my career.
“I loved watching Ronaldo score his 901st goal yesterday and seeing him compete at 39 years-old. It just inspires me to play for as long as possible.
“I love this game. I love representing England more than anything and I don’t want it to end any time soon.
He added: “Who knows how many caps I can get or how many goals I can get? But I’m hungry for more, and I’m determined to keep pushing the boundaries.”
Kane said he grew up idolising Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who were in their prime when he was coming through as a teenager at Tottenham Hotspur, and he often looked at other players for inspiration.
“Both he and Messi were people I looked up to growing up,” he said.
“They were in their prime as I was coming into my teenage years, probably when I was coming into football, where I really wanted to improve and get better, not just where I love football where I had to be, where can I improve?
“Both of them were inspirations to me, to have that hunger and desire and that determination, almost a sense to keep proving people wrong and proving to yourself that you can be the best you can be.
“Then, when the day comes when you stop playing you can be proud of what you have done. I try to use different players to motivate me, especially older players who are older than me.
“To score over 900 goals in your career is something, an exceptional record, and to play until you are 38 is really inspiring. I think that just helps me and motivates me to know that I’ve got many more years ahead at the highest level.”
(Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
