If you’ve been following the Spanish papers lately, you would know that FC Barcelona have their sights set on Harry Kane — never mind that he is contracted with Bayern Munich until 2027. Assuming this
rumor is true, they face competition from an unexpected source — the NFL.
Wait, what?
Okay, let’s back up.
FC Barcelona want Harry Kane — as far as the Spanish newspapers are concerned (Mundo Deportivo via Barca Blaugranes). This may be an expression of delusion on their part, or perhaps an elaborate act of performance art for club members. It’s hard to tell when MD is involved.
The fact remains: Robert Lewandowski is ageing, and Barça need a new striker to fill the void soon. Marcus Rashford is more of a left winger than a striker, and they apparently see Julián Alvarez as “too expensive”. Why Harry Kane would be any cheaper, the papers don’t mention.
This ties into Barcelona’s longstanding strategy of copying Bayern Munich — we get Robert Lewandowski, they get Robert Lewandowski. We get Hansi Flick, they get Hansi Flick. They always manage to do a little bit worse than their FCB counterpart, as befits a copycat. So this sudden push for Harry Kane makes sense (if you follow insane troll logic).
Where does the NFL come into this?
Harry Kane’s dream
Now that he’s won a trophy, Harry Kane hopes to realize his true dream — of playing as a kicker in the NFL. This is not a joke (via BBC):
As Kane prepared to win his 100th cap for England last September, football writer Henry Winter spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live about what the future may hold for England’s all-time leading goalscorer.
“If I was taking a punt, as it were, I would say that within three years he’ll be a kicker in the NFL,” said Winter. “He’s talked about it, he’s big mates with Tom Brady, and it has been done before.”
As a young footballer, Kane was inspired by a 2011 documentary he watched about legendary quarterback Brady and then became a New England Patriots fan.
He attended the Patriots’ 2019 Super Bowl win in Atlanta and became friends with Brady and team-mate Julian Edelman, who are both now retired.
During a 2023 appearance on Good Morning America – the most-watched morning show in the US – Kane said that becoming an NFL kicker is “something I want to definitely explore” when he retires from football.
“The NFL is something I’ve been following for about 10 years now,” he said. “I love it, so I would love to give it a go.”
Ex-NFL player Dustin Colquitt thinks Kane could make the switch and be good at it. When asked if the 32-year-old England international could become an NFL kicker, he told BBC Sport, “Absolutely, if he focused on it. He would do fantastic. I’ve seen some of his finishing skills.”
“I would love to actually work with him just because I love soccer, and his excitement,” Colquitt added. “He’s seeking this out — that’s part of the fiber of his being, that he wants to try this NFL thing.”
Does he want to try this NFL thing? Well, speaking to Gary Neville in 2021, Kane made his opinion clear:
Neville: Is that something that’s really on your mind? You really want to do it, don’t you?
Kane: Yeah it’s really something that I think I can achieve. I think it would be…
Neville: It’s mad really, isn’t it?
Kane: Yeah I just feel like, if I could play in the NFL and do what I’ve done in football, imagine that as an experience, imagine that as a career, to do two different sports.
I mean, I’m not expecting it to be easy. I know a lot of people think I’m just going to turn up and be an NFL kicker. I know it will be a lot of hard work, a lot of practice, but…
It’s just something that’s always interested me, because I feel like the kicking is almost the equivalent to like a penalty kick. So it’s like, okay a lot of people can score penalties in training and in the NFL you can kick it a long way, but can you do it under pressure? When the moment is big? When the game’s on the line?
I think that aspect is the bit that maybe I have a little bit of an advantage over maybe some younger people coming through.
Neville: So when’s it going to happen?
Kane: I guess it depends on my career as well, like I might get to 35 and be like “I’ve lost interest in that”. Maybe in ten, fifteen years time — my late thirties to forties, if I’m still in the shape that I’d like to be in, I guess I’d start practicing nearer the time if it was a serious option.
Of course, we’re talking about something years down the line. I don’t want to say it’s definitely going to happen, it’s just something in the back of my mind I would love to try and achieve.
So there you have it. Poor Barcelona. Imagine losing your striker target to a different sport.
