FOOTBALL’S Benjamin Button just keeps on getting better.
While many of his counterparts have gone completely the wrong way, Harry Kane is ageing like the proverbial fine wine.
He raised his bat on Wednesday after netting a 50th goal for Bayern this season, taking his overall tally during his time in Munich to 135 goals in 138 appearances.
Those are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi-type numbers, yet he is supposedly entering the autumn of his career, turning 33 in July.
His prowess in the Bundesliga and Champions League means he is now the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or this year.
The last Englishman awarded the mother of all footballing gongs was a baby-faced Michael Owen in 2001.
He fired Liverpool to an incredible treble trophy haul and was crowned the world’s best player, fending off Raul, Oliver Kahn and David Beckham.
The only Englishman to have a sniff since was Jude Bellingham two years ago, when he finished third behind Vinicius Jr and Rodri. It’s rarefied air for one of our own to even be in the conversation, let alone the 2-1 favourite.
His biggest threat, the bookies say, is Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal, 14 years Kane’s junior.
What he is doing at the age of 32, with all those miles at England and Tottenham on his tyres, is absolutely remarkable.
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How many times in recent years have we spoken about prodigious young talents falling away almost as quickly as they’d emerged?
Dele Alli is sadly the posterboy for the generation who burned brightly for a short period of time only to suffer implosions off the pitch or complete loss of form on it.
For context, Kane was a regular for Spurs a year before Dele arrived in North London.
Kane is better than ever and in peak physical condition while his old team-mate, who has sadly suffered issues away from football, has been finished for a while.
Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling, Jesse Lingard, Ross Barkley and Jadon Sancho were all international regulars for England in the not too distant past but they’ve all fallen off a cliff in one form or another.
You hesitate to say it, considering Thomas Tuchel will be hoping he can still play a big part in England’s World Cup campaign, but Phil Foden looks like he is going the same way.
The combined intensity of the modern game and the gruelling year-round schedule means players at the highest level must suffer from mental burnout as well as physical decline.
It’s why Kane, who has played at the top for 12 years, is the exception rather than the rule. He is truly an extraordinary case.
When he finally managed to get his move away from the Spurs circus three years ago, some English fans mocked him for joining Bayern to get himself a few cheap trophies in a league the German giants have dominated for decades.
Harry Kane’s career by numbers
Here is how Harry Kane’s numbers stack up…
2009-2023: Tottenham – 435 games, 280 goals
2011: Leyton Orient (loan) – 18 games, 5 goals
2012: Millwall (loan) – 27 games, 9 goals
2012-2013: Norwich (loan) – 5 games, 0 goals
2013: Leicester (loan) – 15 games, 2 goals
2023-current: Bayern Munich – 138 games, 135 goals
2015-current: England – 112 games, 78 goals
OVERALL: 750 games, 509 goals
But it is not easy moving abroad and adjusting to a new league, especially at a gigantic club with enormous expectations.
He has taken to it like the proverbial duck to water and thrown himself into German culture, too, happily sporting lederhosen while putting away a stein and a bratwurst during Oktoberfest.
Kane has always been under-appreciated by England fans, despite his 213 Prem goals and record 76 tally for his country.
And as he fires Bayern to another domestic title, and a potential Champions League final, there is a danger the Germans will end up loving him more than we do.
Of course, if he can do the unthinkable and drive England forward to World Cup glory this summer, they’ll be building statues of him around the country.
It might take a victory that seismic to earn him the affection he deserves.
And if that happens, the Ballon d’Or will be his.
