England captain Harry Kane is confident he can emulate Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi after entering the “second half” of his career at 30.
The England international made a major career decision this summer when he decided to move to Germany and join Bayern Munich from Tottenham, in a bid to reignite hopes of winning trophies after a barren spell in north London.
He is already over 30, but Kane believes he has the potential to play at the highest level for at least “eight or nine” more years, following in the footsteps of Messi and Ronaldo.
“ The perception in sport or football in general is that you hit 30 and people start to think that’s the end.”Kane told reporters. “But the way I look at it is I’m almost in the second half of my career. I played in the Spurs first team from the age of 20 or 21, so I’ve had nine or ten years at the highest level and I’m hoping to have another eight or nine years at the highest level. When you look at the top players – Ronaldo, Messi, (Robert) Lewandowski, (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic – they have almost improved as they approach their 30s. This is also the case in many sports. Perhaps everything is settled in your personal life. You have a family, children, so everything is settled on that side.
“You’re comfortable with your body, you’re comfortable mentally and that allows you to focus on football. I just want to keep playing. I think with everything that’s going on, with recovery, sports science and the way the game has adapted, it’s allowed players to play longer. I like to think my career will continue into my late 30s, at least.
