Harry Kane has revealed how Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have inspired him to play for many more years for club and country as he prepares to mark his 100th appearance for England.
The Bayern Munich striker, 31, is already England’s leading goalscorer with 66 goals in his 99 matches and sees no reason to slow down ahead of a Wembley Nations League showdown against Finland.
He said: “I feel in really good shape both physically and mentally at a peak in my career. When you watch another player like Ronaldo scoring his 901st goal yesterday and seeing him compete at 39 years old, that inspires me to play for as long as possible.
“I have met Ronaldo a couple of times at events and watched him and Messi at their peak when I was younger. They are definitely an inspiration for me.
“I love this game; I love representing England more than anything and I don’t want it to end anytime soon.
“For me now it’s about continuing to improve and be consistent both in an England shirt and at club level and that’s what I’ll always do.
“Who knows how many caps or goals I can get but I’m hungry for more. I’m determined to keep pushing the boundaries.”
Kane trained in gold coloured boots ahead of his landmark appearances and is to be presented with a gold cap when he becomes the tenth player to hit the century mark for England.
It was all music to the ears of interim England manager Lee Carsley, looking to follow his weekend win away to Ireland with a Wembley debut victory against Finland.
Carsley commented: “I have only worked with Harry for a few sessions now, but I could instantly see how motivated and committed he is. That can only be an inspiration for our younger players.”
