When Tottenham Hotspur’s Amazon documentary All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur came out back in 2020, one of its most notable moments was a captured conversation between then-Tottenham striker Harry Kane and then-Tottenham coach José Mourinho. In this conversation, Kane clearly expressed to Mourinho his desire to reach the level of two of the greatest players in the history of football, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Given the England international had not even won a trophy yet, he was roundly
mocked for setting his sights so high. But Kane was right to set his sights so high and, playing for Bayern Munich in the 2025/26 season, he hit numbers that rival the iconic duo’s regular tallies. 61 goals scored in 51 games. Incredible stuff.
Now with England as they prepare for the World Cup, Kane has had some time to reflect on a ridiculous season. In an interview with French news site L’Équipe, he was asked if he would have believed such a tally was possible in summer 2025.
“I don’t know, because it’s a pretty crazy number,” Kane admitted honestly (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), before again taking the plunge and making the comparison to the two aforementioned footballing greats. “My previous record for a single club season was 44 goals, and when you cross the 60-goal mark, you find yourself in a league recently only reached by Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. At the time, their stats seemed truly unattainable to me.”
Of course, just because Kane did it once does not mean he can hang regularly with the greatest players of the 21st century. He may be in their league for now, but Messi and Ronaldo were hitting those numbers on a consistent basis at FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively. Can Kane repeat the trick next season? Besides, their best seasons’ goal tallies still eclipse Kane’s recent season. To truly reach their levels, Kane will need to hit these numbers regularly from now on. Is there enough time? Will he just decline from here?
It seems silly to suggest Kane, at 32, can get anywhere near the consistency the legendary Argentine and Portuguese enjoyed, but it seemed silly back in 2020 to suggest Kane could reach their level at all. Now that he proved he can reach those levels once, it is up to him to show just how many more levels he can go up from here.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- New, improved notifications system!
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
