LONDON (AP) — England soccer great Harry Kane’s long-held hope of being a kicker in the NFL took clearer shape Wednesday, when he floated the idea of combining the goal with also joining a Major League Soccer club.
The 33-year-old Kane is currently happy and setting records at Bayern Munich coming off a standout 73-goal season that has him in contention to win the Ballon d’Or in London next month.
Still, the England captain looked toward a future in the United States ahead of his team hosting World Cup winner Spain on Saturday in the Nations League.
“Maybe if I am in the MLS in the future or somewhere like that it might be a thing where you could connect the two maybe with the seasons,” said Kane, a longtime admirer of Tom Brady.
“That is something I will try and look at a bit more seriously,” Kane said. “It all depends on what happens in my career over the next five or six years, the motivation and what I want to do.”
The former Tottenham forward compared the skill of place-kicking in the NFL with taking penalties in soccer.
“I take penalties and it is a very similar pressure, technique,” he said. “If I did that, in terms of training, I would be closer to that more than any other sport.”
“If I was to do it, it is something I would take seriously. I would take maybe six months to a year of trying to practice before,” Kane said. “But, again, it is in the back of my mind because right now I am feeling that I want to play as long as I can here.”
Kane revealed he is “fairly close” to signing a new contract with Bayern where he is now in a fourth season and has won two Bundesliga titles.
___
See AP’s full soccer coverage here