Revealed: How Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo are inspiring Harry Kane as record-setting £100m Bayern Munich striker says he has ‘loads of years left’

Kane took the brave decision to step out of his comfort zone at Tottenham over the summer and complete a £100 million ($123m) transfer to the reigning Bundesliga champions. He left Spurs as the club’s all-time leading scorer, while also boasting that record with England. He is now 30 years of age, but looks to the likes of Messi and Ronaldo as examples of what can be achieved when it comes to longevity at the very highest level.

Kane has told ESPN: "I think of what they've done, they are as good in their 30s as they were in their 20s. Me just turning 30 now, it obviously gives me excitement to know if I keep my body in good shape and keep my mentality right, I could be playing at the highest level for as long as I want to do it. Those players [Ronaldo and Messi] have set the bar - those and a few others as well - and it just motivates me and tells me that it's possible. It is great watching those players still performing, two of the greatest players ever to play our game. For me now, it is almost the second half of my career. I've had a good first half; now, can the second half be even better?

He added on what the future holds, with there still talk of him returning to the Premier League at some stage in a bid to break Alan Shearer’s all-time goal record there: "I just take it year by year. I still feel I've got loads of years left to play. Maybe when I get to my late 30s I'll start thinking about what I want to do after football a bit further down the line. For now, it is just about enjoying every moment, enjoying being a footballer because it goes so quick. Already, probably being at the highest level for nine years, those years have flown by. So I'm just trying to take it all in year by year, game by game, laying it all out there and delivering my best for the teams that I'm playing for and that's what I'll continue to do. I don't like to get too far ahead of myself.

When the day does come to hang up his boots, NFL fan Kane may decide to try his luck in the American form of football. He said when asked if heading down that route really is part of his grand plan, having previously talked up a possible move into placekicking: "A lot of people talk to me about that and of course I've always said it is something I'd like to explore at a later date, but I think it all depends on where I'm at in my career, whether I am happy to continue playing football. There are a lot of question marks. It is something that is in the back of my mind but it is still a long way away. Again, it is not something I am thinking about right now. Time will tell. In life sometimes things just play out how they are supposed to play out. We'll see in five, six, seven years where I'm at, where I want to be, what I want to do. I'll make that decision then.

For now, Kane is fully focused on matters at Bayern – with five goals recorded through six appearances, including one against Manchester United on his Champions League debut for the club, to prove that he can deliver the goods regardless of who he is playing for and in whatever country.