Harry Kane admitted he is motivated by comparisons with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo... and the Tottenham striker's stats do compare well with the world's best

  • Kane admitted that he one day wants to emulate feats of Messi and Ronaldo
  • The Tottenham striker is well aware of favourable comparisons with them
  • In 2017, Kane is outperforming Ronaldo in certain aspects of the forward game
  • He has scored 25 league goals during the calendar year of 2017 - and counting
  • England striker is unwilling to divulge the records he wants to break long-term

Footballers aren't always too willing to admit it, but many are secretly obsessed with the facts and figures of their careers.

Goalkeepers will be aware of how many goals they've let in and how many clean sheets they've kept. Defenders will be fixated on tackle success percentages and duels won.

For strikers like Tottenham's Harry Kane, it's the more straightforward currency of goals scored and how many of his shots can be expected to ripple the back of the net.

Tottenham striker Harry Kane continued his excellent 2017 with two goals against West Ham

Tottenham striker Harry Kane continued his excellent 2017 with two goals against West Ham

Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring a goal
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a goal

Kane admits he is motivated by comparisons to Barcelona's Lionel Messi (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid (right)

The records of goalscorers are the easiest to compare and Kane is fully aware of the exalted company he is now keeping after what has been a magnificent few years.


This week, as he faced questions from the media ahead of Tottenham's Champions League meeting with APOEL in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, Kane was asked whether he was aware that his stats were comparable with the very best of the best - Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Kane didn't even feign surprise. 'With social media these days, it's difficult to stay away from the stats,' he answered.

'Everyone is tweeting this thing or that thing and you see it. I want to be one of the best players in the world, so when people put stuff up and I see I am close to these players it is a great incentive to get even closer.'

At 24, Kane is in a great place in his career. Derided for so long as a one-season wonder or a flash in the pan, after a slow start to his career at Spurs he has turned in seasons of 31, 28 and 25 goals in all competitions.

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino again declared his love for Kane after he scored twice in their London derby win at West Ham on Saturday

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino again declared his love for Kane after he scored twice in their London derby win at West Ham on Saturday

Kane heads home Tottenham's first goal from Dele Alli's cross at the London Stadium

Kane heads home Tottenham's first goal from Dele Alli's cross at the London Stadium

Kane then capitalised on a rebound after Joe Hart saved from Dele Alli's shot

Kane then capitalised on a rebound after Joe Hart saved from Dele Alli's shot

Despite failing to score in August once again, Kane has six goals in seven appearances so far this season and is well on course to at least equal his recent returns.

On the international stage for England, Kane has also proved himself at home, with 10 goals in his 21 appearances so far.

After he scored twice in Saturday's London derby win at West Ham, Mauricio Pochettino declared his undying love for Kane, while Hammers skipper Mark Noble described him as 'easily worth £100million plus.'

Kane has every right to be aiming for the stratosphere in his career to come and he sees no reason to limit his ambition. Last month, he spoke about one day winning the Ballon d'Or but acknowledged he'd probably need to win the Champions League in order to do this.

Ronaldo and Messi have monopolised the Ballon d'Or since 2008, so on the face of it Kane's comments appear fanciful. But compare the trio's goal returns, however, and Kane's figures do stand up to scrutiny.

Kane celebrates after scoring the first of his two goals against Borussia Dortmund

Kane celebrates after scoring the first of his two goals against Borussia Dortmund

Kane slots home in Tottenham's 3-0 win at Everton - he scored twice in this fixture

Kane slots home in Tottenham's 3-0 win at Everton - he scored twice in this fixture

It came after Kane endured his customarily slow August - failing to score a single goal

It came after Kane endured his customarily slow August - failing to score a single goal

KANE COMPARED TO MESSI AND RONALDO SINCE 2014 
League matches since August 2014 Cristiano Ronaldo Lionel Messi Harry Kane
Games played 102 111 108
Minutes played 9006 9475 9014
Goals scored 108 115 79
Total shots 632 565 419
% of shots scored 17.1 20.4 18.9
Minutes per goal 83 82 114
Assists 33 44 12
Stats courtesy of Opta    

Since nailing down his Spurs starting spot at the start of the 2014-15 season, Kane has scored 79 Premier League goals in 108 appearances.

Across those three-and-a-bit seasons, Ronaldo has 108 goals in 102 for Real Madrid and Messi has scored 115 in 111 for Barcelona.

Dig deeper, however, and you see that Kane is deadlier in front of goal. His goals have come from far fewer shots and his shots-to-goals percentage is superior to Ronaldo's and not far off Messi's.

Focus in on the calendar year of 2017 and the picture is even brighter. Kane has scored 25 goals in 23 matches, while Ronaldo has 15 in 20 and Messi 34 in 27.

Messi is the only player who has scored more than Kane in Europe's leading five domestic leagues in 2017 and his shots-to-goal percentage in this time trumps both those superstars.

Between the ages of 18 and 24, Ronaldo scored 84 league goals in 196 matches for Manchester United. Kane is now only too shy of that total, but from just 119 games.

It suggests that if Kane can keep scoring at the current rate, there really should be no limit to his career ambition.

Kane has also become England's first-choice striker and has 10 goals for his country in total

Kane has also become England's first-choice striker and has 10 goals for his country in total

Kane celebrates after scoring in England's 3-2 friendly loss to France back in June

Kane celebrates after scoring in England's 3-2 friendly loss to France back in June

KANE COMPARED TO MESSI AND RONALDO THIS YEAR 
League matches in 2017 Cristiano Ronaldo Lionel Messi Harry Kane
Games played 20 27 23
Minutes played 1783 2348 1960
Goals scored 15 34 25
Total shots 112 156 111
% of shots scored 13.4 21.8 22.5
Minutes per goal 119 69 78
Assists 4 7 6
Stats courtesy of Opta    

Kane was coy when asked if there were certain records he wants to break during the course of his career but some you can perhaps guess.

Alan Shearer's Premier League record of 260 goals must be lodged somewhere at the back of his mind. The Twitter account Spurs Stat Man has calculated it will take Kane another 266 games to break it, during the 2025/26 season, if he keeps injury-free.

Then there's the Tottenham club record of 266 goals that belongs to Jimmy Greaves though you imagine, at some point, someone is going to make an earth-shattering transfer bid for him.

Now established as a regular for England, could Kane exceed Wayne Rooney's recently-created scoring record for the national team? If he was to earn a century of England caps, there's every chance.

One thing for certain is that social media will track Kane's progress all the way, such is the modern-day craving for football facts and figures.

It's up to Kane to set the bar for his own posterity.

 

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