Harry Kane has revealed his plans to swap football for American football, and end his sporting career as a kicker in the NFL.
The England captain has made no secret of his passion for the US sport – he attended the Super Bowl in February and named his pet dogs after quarterbacks Tom Brady and Russell Wilson.
Kane insisted in an interview that he has a genuine wish to move across the pond and start over as a kicker, the player responsible for kicking the ball for field goals and extra points.
However, he insisted that his move would not be motivated by money – kickers are among the lowest-paid players in the NFL – but purely by the drive to succeed in different disciplines.
“That’s real, [it’s] something that in 10 or 12 years, I definitely want to try,” he said.
“It goes back to that drive to be the best. Even if I download a game on my phone, can I be the best in the world?
“If you play in the Premier League and the World Cup, and you then play in the NFL, would you then be considered one of the greatest sportsmen ever?”
Kane said his motivation derives by watching sporting greats such as Brady, who he listed as one of his idols and who he witnessed last month lifting his sixth Super Bowl title with the New England Patriots.
The two met for the first time at the Patriots’ team party after the game in Atlanta, and Kane says it is the similarities between him and Brady that gives him the hunger to follow in his footsteps.
“I’ve started watching him on YouTube,” Kane said.
“Not many people thought he’d become that good, or even play in the NFL, and he went on to become the best ever. We’ve had a similar path being doubted when we were younger, maybe not being the best athletes as kids.
