Tottenham Hotspurs lead striker Harry Kane has been talking about being so relevant in the sports world at this age and his secret is just taking in the inspiration and keep on grinding.
The Brit talked about how many players who aren’t in their 20s are also in their prime.
“People are speaking about their prime being between their mid-20s and late-20s,” he tells GOAL during an exclusive interview at The Hive, Barnet FC’s stadium in north London. “But I feel like people’s prime now is early-30s, pushing on to mid-30s
“You look at Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. All these players hit 30 and took their careers to another level.
“That’s something I look at and get excited about because I know there’s a lot more I can improve on and achieve.
“I think Ronaldo and Messi set the standard, not just on the pitch but by being so professional off it. It’s all down to the way they keep their body in good shape, so that they can perform week in, week out.
“So, that’s the goal: I want to be playing football as long as possible. It is a sport I love and enjoy doing every day of my life, so the longer I do it, the better.
“I probably am double the player that I was at Orient (during his first season as a professional),” he explains. “That was 11 years ago now and I think that data has been a huge part of my development. When I was about 20 years old, after a couple of my loans didn’t go quite so well, it was like ‘Where do I go from here? So, I took a look at stats and, with Mauricio Pochettino coming in at Spurs, I did a lot of gym work and extras on the training pitch, high-speed running stuff, to take my game to the next level.
“I am a huge NFL fan and a huge Tom Brady fan as well,” he admits. “It’s the way he started and was doubted and people were not expecting much of him, it felt similar to how my career started.
“He kept his head down, worked harder than anyone else, had self-belief and a real determination and drive and that’s what he did.