England captain Kane says fans are 'bored' by his goal record / Photo: © AFP
England captain Kane says fans are 'bored' by his goal record
England captain Harry Kane believes he is being taken for granted by fans who are "bored" with his goal-scoring record for the national side.
The 31-year-old is England's record goal-scorer with 69 in 103 appearances and he will look to add to that tally when the Three Lions, in their first match under new head coach Thomas Tuchel, begin their bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup against Albania at Wembley on Friday.
Kane has also scored 76 goals in just 82 games for German giants Bayern Munich.
The former Tottenham star says supporters would still be "excited" by his returns were he a younger player but have instead grown so used to him finding the back of the net that the thrill has gone.
"It's like when Ronaldo and Messi were throwing these crazy numbers out there and the next season they’d score 40 goals instead of 50 and it was like they were having a bad season," he told a pre-match press conference.
"People take it for granted and maybe a little bit with England as well. I've scored 69 goals and when you score against Albania or Latvia, or these teams, people just expect it so it's not spoken about so much.
"Say if I was 25 now and doing what I'm doing, the excitement around me would maybe be a little bit different to what it is now."
He added: "Again, that's part of where we are with football and I've seen it with some other players as they get into their 30s.
"Maybe people just get a little bit bored of what you do, but I'm certainly not bored. I'm excited for these games and the games ahead."
Kane's goals for England, however, have not been enough to end a nearly 60-year wait for a first major trophy since they won the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley.
But his efforts for Bayern have taken the German giants, in the Champions League quarter-finals, to the brink of the Bundesliga title and possibly put Kane in contention for the Ballon d'Or, the annual prize for the world's best footballer.
"Just being at a club like Bayern Munich has helped push me on even more, confidence-wise and responsibility-wise," he said. "I feel like I've definitely got better, I've improved, and maybe the 'aura' of me as a player is a bit more respected than what it has been in the past, because you’re playing in big games, big nights.
"I felt that last season as well, I scored over 40 goals, but obviously, I was never going to win the Ballon d'Or because we didn't win the team trophies...For something like that, you have to win enough team trophies to be considered in that and probably score 40-odd goals, but that is a possibility this season.
"That is definitely something I would love to try to achieve."
R.Hawkins--TNT
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