Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham all earned nods from Harry Kane in an exclusive quickfire question session with GOAL that saw the Bayern Munich striker name the best player he has played against and his boyhood idol. The England captain also picked out the best passer of a ball that he has ever seen and the young talent that he is most excited about watching develop.
Best in the business: Kane has graced the grandest of stages
Kane has faced some of the finest talent in world football over the course of his career, with outings for club and country pitching him into direct competition with the very best in the business. He has represented Tottenham and Bayern Munich with distinction on a domestic stage, while becoming captain of England at international level.
The prolific 32-year-old has graced the Premier League, Bundesliga, Champions League, European Championship and World Cup. Having rubbed shoulders with the great and good, he is well placed to pass judgement on who stands out from the crowd.
Indeed, when asked to pick the best player he's ever played against, Kane couldn't separate Messi and Ronaldo, even when pushed to pick between the two GOATs.
AdvertisementWatch Kane picks his toughest opponent & boyhood heroMessi, Beckham, De Bruyne & Musiala earn praise from Kane
Kane was asked by GOAL to name the players that he holds in the highest regard, with several categories being worked through. Unsurprisingly, the Three Lions skipper lauded a couple of GOATs, an iconic fellow countryman and a current club colleague at the Allianz Arena.
After giving his answer for the best player that he has come up against, Kane went on to name another England captain, Manchester United legend David Beckham, as the retired player that he would most like to have played with and his favourite player growing up.
Former Premier League opponents Kevin De Bruyne and N’Golo Kante, who once lined up in title-winning squads at Manchester City and Chelsea respectively, were selected as the best passer of a ball that Kane has seen and the toughest midfield enforcer. And in the England captain's eyes, exciting Germany international Jamal Musiala, who plays alongside Kane at Bayern, is considered to be the hottest prospect on the planet.
Getty ImagesHow Beckham helped to inspire Kane
Kane is from the same area of east London as ex-Three Lions talisman Beckham. He has previously told England's of being able to follow in illustrious footsteps: “David Beckham had also played for Ridgeway Rovers growing up and with Beckham being Beckham, growing up he was my idol, and it was the same for a lot of young kids in that area. I knew he had played for the same team as me, went to the same local secondary school in Chingford Foundation School, and grew up in the area, so whilst Beckham was obviously a huge figure across the world, for those of us in Chingford, where he came from, that was all people used to speak about. It was nice to have that link and looking back, having two England captains from Ridgeway Rovers and Chingford Foundation School is an amazing achievement.
“Seeing Beckham go on to achieve what he did made it seem a little bit more real. If I didn’t have that you might have felt it was out of reach or an impossible task, with so many people and potential footballers out there, but it gave me that little bit of extra belief that I could go on and achieve the same.”