Exclusive: Harry Kane Refuses to rule out Pl Return as he Reactsto Pochettino Nearing Man Utd job

Yes, I'm delighted and honoured to welcome the newly crowned Ballon d'Or winner, England captain, three-time Premier League and three-time Bundesliga Golden Boot winner, World Cup Golden Boot winner, and just the greatest player on the planet to the show, as we say hello, good afternoon, and welcome to Drive to Harry Kane. Hi, Harry. How are we doing, guys? You okay? We are good. We are tickety-boo. How are you today? You good? Are you well? I'm doing very good. Good training session, good press conference, and now talking with you two. So it's going to be better. Well, we are honoured to have you on our show, and I've been told by your people we've got you till 7pm. Is that alright? Yeah, I've heard there's been a few rumours flying about. Yeah, I have to say your people have panicked by saying, we heard you talking about it earlier, you haven't got him for 30 minutes, you've got him for... I was like, don't worry, Harry's cool, we're cool, all will be good. So listen, we will, thank you so much for your time. We've got so much to talk to you about. We can only start with the Ballon d'Or, of course. The first Englishman since 2001, only the fifth Englishman ever to win that award. How on earth does that feel, Harry? Yeah, it's been incredible, to be honest. The event itself was just really, really special. To have it in London, I think, made it that extra... that extra bit of specialness as well and you know I had my friends family there for the celebration after and it's just been yeah an overwhelming experience I think I maybe underestimated how big the Ballon d'Or was and how many people wanted it for me also the amount of messages and phone calls and social media messages and just people I don't even know just giving me their congratulations it's been yeah quite overwhelming but just yeah been loving it it's been a really It's been a really good couple of weeks. Harry, talk to me about that moment and the feeling, because you got obviously given the Ballon d'Or by, again, one of the greatest strikers and one of the greatest players of all time in Brazilian Ronaldo. That initial moment when they mentioned your name, what was the feeling like? Yeah, it was like, it was almost like a movie, you know, when everything just goes in slow motion. And in the actual moment, it felt like I was kind of had my hand to my mouth for maybe 30 seconds to a minute. But obviously when I watched it back, it was about. It was about two seconds, but it really was just like everything just went into a slow-motion moment. My heart was pounding before it kind of got announced. I had no idea. A lot of people have been asking me if I had any idea. I had zero idea. So, yeah, heart was pounding, obviously. To have Renato read out my name was extra special, and then to get there. The trophy from him as well. So, yeah, to be honest, it couldn't have gone any better in the end. The whole night itself and the actual, you know, going up on stage and that whole emotion that was running through my body was just as high as I've ever felt. I know you said you had no idea, and rightly so, but we were getting whispers of, like, it was Lamine Yamal, then it went to Mbappe, then it went back to you. And we've been rooting for you to win it since it was announced that you were down to the final 10. Did you have any inclination whatsoever that it either was or wasn't going to be? Had anyone come up to you, like your brother, Charlie? Had anyone said to you, I've heard some good news? No, no, literally nothing at all. And, you know, I think everyone was nervous. You know, my brother was nervous. My wife, Kate, was nervous. All the family. And that almost made it worse. I know how much they wanted it for me as well. So, yeah. Yeah, I was just like probably anyone else. I was like looking on my phone, looking. You know, at the odds changing, at this rumor, that rumor, and it was just kind of, especially because we was in the hotel for quite a while, it got delayed for about an hour, so I was just kind of in my suit, walking around the room, not knowing what to do with myself, but yeah, I had no idea, zero idea, and yeah, once I got to the event itself, I was literally just sitting there at the front, waiting, waiting for the moment, and yeah, thankfully it worked out in my favor. I saw you had a watch on, it was like one and a half million pounds worth of watch, they let you keep that after you won it? Yeah, it didn't cost me that much. I think that's the rumour of how much it's worth. Um, yeah, on the second hand market, but, uh, no, beautiful watch. I had, uh, yeah, I bought myself. I'm, I'm a big watch collector. I love, there's one thing I do enjoy to spend my money on. So, um, yeah, I know Rolex were pretty happy with that. Let's put it that way. Harry, when you think about your journey as well, you spent time at Orient on loan, Millwall on loan, Norwich, Leicester, and then you, you see yourself now as a Ballon d'Or winner. I mean, your journey is absolutely incredible. And the message that sends to young kids that. It's almost never too late to reach the top. I mean, it's a powerful thing that you've done by winning the Ballon d'Or, not just for yourself personally, but for the millions of kids that have been watching you year on year. Yeah, and I think that's what, you know, when I spoke, I guess quite emotionally after in the speech, I think it was that. It was just a reminder that, you know, everyone's journey is different. I wasn't the one, the kid that everyone expected to go on and do what I've achieved, but down to, you know, hard work and self-belief and resilience and determination through, you know, some tough times, sometimes that, you know, You know, I know other people of experience have not been able to. It does take a lot of mental strength to do what I've done, but I think it is a great message for any young boy who'll go out there. If you have a dream, if you're willing to sacrifice and put in the hard work, then really anything is possible. The Ballon d'Or itself was not even something that I thought about when I was young. As I started to understand more about football and you see the Messi, Ronaldo era, etc, then it's like, OK, maybe Maybe I'd love to win that one day. Yeah, you've seen by the history how hard it is, especially for an English player to win it. So, yeah, really proud to represent our country in that way. Let's talk about another big and proud moment for you. This is tomorrow. You become England's greatest ever player with regards to the amount of caps that you've won. 125, your joint level with Peter Shilton. You're going to go one better than that tomorrow. I understand he's going to present you with something, an award before the game. How proud does that make you feel that you're the most capped? Player of all time for England, that's some achievement. Yeah, I think it's hard to take in. I'm a massive England fan. I've made that clear whenever I talk about England. I loved watching England growing up and it was just a dream to be able to play. Making my debut was an incredible moment for me. And I think once you get to that stage, you just think, OK, can I hold on to this shirt? Can I be consistent? Can I try and make the number nine shirt mine? I've been able to do that and it's been 11 years since then. To now sit on top more than anyone else in our history is pretty mind-blowing. A lot of this stuff is hard to take in whilst I'm still playing. Ultimately, I want to make I want to make sure that we win tomorrow, I want to get the three points and then we've got many games from now until Christmas So, yeah, maybe over the winter break when I'm sitting on the beach, I'll kind of process what's happened over the last few weeks or so, but yeah, all amazing stuff that I'm extremely proud of. Well, Harry, every single international, you seem to be there and you've played a lot of games for your club side. You play every single international for England. It never seems to me like you ever need a break or take a break. I mean, other players, of course, have spoke about load management before and that maybe they're playing too many games for their club side. But every single international, you seem to be out there and proud playing for your country. Is that the way you see it? Like, do you almost feel like because you're the captain, it's even your duty of care to almost play in every single international? Yeah, it's a bit of that. It's also... I think I know what we spoke a little bit about there, how much I had to sacrifice to get to where I am, all the ups and downs. Every time you're not here, you're essentially giving someone else a chance to take your place. So, uh, I try and remind myself of that, that it doesn't matter who I am or how many goals I've scored or the fact that people think I'm going to start. Ultimately, if I'm not here and available for the England team, then someone else is going to play as the number nine And maybe that gives the manager, yeah. Something to think about and maybe you don't need me anymore. I know that's a bit extreme, but I think that's just my mindset that I have. And also, I love playing for England. I know there'll be a time, hopefully in many years, but there'll be a time where I won't be able to play at this level anymore or I won't be playing football and I'll miss it more than anything. So, yeah, I think since moving to Germany, especially, and having a winter break, it obviously makes a big difference. Yeah. I look at some of the Premier League boys now on the schedule and Whilst I'll be having two weeks off in the winter, I'll be playing probably five games in that period. I've experienced that. I've lived that. I know how tough that is. I think those things have helped me as well. Helped me to get the rest and recovery I need and make sure that I'm available for all the big moments throughout the year. Talking of your future, I know Ronaldo is still playing football at 41. He's only just retired from international football. Are we going to see you at the 2030 World Cup? Are you going to be playing in the NFL by then? I hope to still be around by then. I'd be 35, nearly 36. But I think that's still pretty young, to be honest. Especially look at some of the players like Modric that we're going to see tomorrow and Messi, what he's done at 39, was he in the last World Cup? There's definitely examples of players playing well into their 30s at the highest level. I've I've always said as long as I feel like. I'm performing and I deserve my place in the team, then I'll be here. If I'm still scoring 50, 60, 70 goals a season for my club, then there's no reason why I won't be here to try and help the national team. My biggest dream is ultimately to win a major trophy of England. There's a lot of individual stuff that I've achieved throughout my career, but there's still many more team-aspect trophies that I want to win, both club and country. I think It's fairly realistic that I'll still be here for the World Cup in four years. But as we know, there's another big tournament from now until then. And the home Euros, that's where the focus lies. Your kids at the moment, they're all English born, right? All born in England, yeah. Okay, if you have another, I don't know if you're thinking about it, if you do have another one and they've got a German passport, could they play for Germany? Would you like that? Well, I think technically, what have I been there, three years or so now? Yeah, I don't know what the situation is, but yeah, my kids are English and yeah, let's just leave it as that for now. Okay. That's fair enough. Listen, let's talk about, let's stay with German football. You've just signed an extension. As a German champion, Ballon d'Or winner as well. Did you ever imagine in your wildest dreams it would go this well? And what was the ultimate reason? I'm guessing you could go to any club. You were linked to Spanish football. Obviously, we'd love to see you back in the Premier League. But what was the defining reason as to why you decided to stay in Germany? It just suits me really, really well for where I'm at in my career right now. Firstly, on the pitch, I think we have a fantastic team, great coach and staff. It was unlucky last year. I felt like we had a really tough battle with PSG in the semi-final. I felt like we were probably the two best teams with Arsenal as well. Last season, we won the German Cup, we won the Bundesliga, which I know is seen as just a given, but we hadn't won the German Cup, Bayern hadn't won the German Cup in six years, so it's not as easy as some people on the outside think. So, yeah, ultimately, like I said, I still want to win the Champions League, I still want to win more trophies, so I felt like Bayern Munich. It gives me that best opportunity. And then, yeah, from a personal point of view, my wife and my kids are really settled here and they're in Munich. Thank The kids are in school. They have friends. Yeah. You know, we feel comfortable. The fans, everywhere we go, people are really good to us. So, yeah, like I said, I still feel like... It's not my last contract. I should still be playing at a high level come 2029. you. So we'll have to see what happens then. But right now, we've got the rest of the second half of this year. Then two more years with Bayern. Hopefully, we can achieve a couple of Champions League in that period. Harry, talk to me about the differences between the Premier League and the Bundesliga because you're winning golden boots in the Premier League quite consistently. You've now gone to Germany doing the exact same thing. So it looks like, to me, there's been no difference for you personally, but what are the biggest differences and challenges comparing the Premier League to the Bundesliga? Yeah, I think the Prem is stronger in terms of all the teams, all 20 teams. I think when you look at the Premier League now, I think it's as close as ever in terms of from top to bottom. Obviously, Arsenal are extending their lead a little bit and look good, but the rest of the league look really close in terms of Yes, just ability and points and relegation. You haven't got a clue who's going to be down there. So I think from that sense, having all 20 teams, every game being really tough. Maybe in the Bundesliga, there's not as many games like that, especially playing at Bayern Munich as well. Because it's a little bit different. When I was at Tottenham, we were never seen as the best team in the league, for example. So just experiencing the pressure of having to win the title and having to win every game and being the team that everyone wants to beat, it's made me appreciate winning, I think, even more. When I was in the Premier League, you look at the teams like City, who are dominating year after year after year, you used to think, It looks easy to them, but it's not until I've experienced it at Bayern that actually it's not easy to win. It's still difficult. Everyone wants to be the team that beats you. So you have to I still do all the things day in, day out, and then just handle the pressure that comes with that. So I think I've definitely appreciated that since I've moved there. The German fans are incredible. I don't know if you've been out and watched any Bundesliga games or any games in Germany, but everywhere you go, the fans are just really loud, really bouncy. The atmosphere has probably been the biggest thing that's impressed me since I've been there. Yeah, ultimately, it's a strong league. I think a lot of teams maybe try and play. We're physically really dominant, and I think that's why we end up getting some of the results we do. But, yeah, I've been quite impressed with this. H, I'm going to call you H now. I feel like we're mates now. Oh, brother. Is that okay? Can I call you H? Yeah, go for it. H, I'm going to ask you a question, but you have to be honest with me. I know you're incredibly well media trained, but I just want to talk to you as a mate, okay? So forget about all the million people that look after you and the fact that you're worth a billion pounds. You mentioned there that in three years' time, two years' time, in 2029, you don't know where you'll be after that. Do you have a need, do you have a want to come back to the Premier League? I know Alan Shearer is quite happy that you're staying in Germany for a bit. But when your contract is up in 2029, do you see yourself coming back to the Premier League and chasing these 260 goals? I'll be honest, I'm really not sure. H, come on. Give me something. This is the honest answer. When I left to go, in my head for sure, I was thinking I'm coming back. Not just for the record, I want to try and achieve things in the Premier League that I haven't achieved yet. But since I've been away, I just think it's really just opened my eyes to... Football outside the Premier League, I was brought up with the Premier League, watching it, I was playing it. Sometimes. Sometimes I know it's easy just to be in that bubble of nothing else kind of matters. But moving to Munich has opened my eyes that there's a big old world out there and I think it's made people appreciate my game. A lot more. So, time will tell. I think it'd have to be the perfect situation for me to ever come back. And, yeah, right now, I can't see where that would be. So, that's not a no, right? There is a possibility you may come back to the Premier League? If that's the headline that you want to throw out there. I don't put words I don't know. What are you talking about? I'm just, everyone wants a headline. I'm just curious, right? Is it possible you could come back to the Premier League? One day, anything is possible. Okay. Let's talk about something that may be possible, and that's your old gaffer, Mauricio Pochettino. I know he's having big old talks with Manchester United. I'm a United fan. I know you always speak highly of Mauricio Pochettino whenever you can. I'm guessing they put questions, well, I know they put questions to you in the England press earlier on this afternoon. Just from my perspective as a United fan, if you were to come to the club, how great a manager would United be getting? Yeah, I can't speak highly enough of him, obviously. Yes, obviously. At this stage in my career, he was massive to my development. He took a team that was extremely young and not seen as one of the top teams to us having back-to-back title races, getting to the Champions League final. He took the club to the highest place it's almost ever been. For me personally, he helped me develop as a player, not just on the pitch off the pitch but also off the pitch and we just built up a really good It was the first time obviously playing regularly at the highest level and all the demands and all the pressure that comes with that. He was a big help in helping me deal with that. Yeah, look, he's an incredible manager. I think, you know, he has proven that over his career, but he's just a great person as well. So, yeah, I'm sure if it does happen, I don't know if it's been confirmed yet or not, but if it does happen, you know, Yeah. yeah, Man United will have a great coach that will do everything to obviously get them back to the levels that they expect to be at. Well, Harry, you said it there. You get a lot of, certainly, this new... You're a manager or you're a head coach. But when I looked at Pochettino, certainly when he worked with you guys at Tottenham, he looked like he was both. Is that the way you see it, where he's not just the manager? He's someone who likes to be on the grass coaching and making players better? Yeah, 100%. He was both. He took a lot of the training. He took a lot of the tactical stuff on how he wanted us to play. I'm trying. Yeah, took pretty much every session, to be honest with you. But then he was a really good, like, man, manager as well. I think because we were such a young team at the time as well, I think he understood that there's a lot of players who will need guidance, who will need an arm around their shoulder. Some will need pushing, some will need, even with me, you know, to push me from, like, a physical level to do more in the gym. Thank But, yeah, it was never, he always, you know, respected him and you could have a talk with him and you could feel open with personal issues. So, for sure, I think he does both. And, um... I think that is the way maybe more modern coaches are as well. You see that more and more. Good morning. you. Yeah, I'd definitely say he fits both roles. Okay, I'm going to let you go two minutes here. I know people around you are probably saying, oh, we only said 15 minutes, and I've taken a mickey a little bit, but I'm going to keep you for two minutes if I'm allowed to, and then I'll compliment you on your hair and ask if Billy charges you, because he charges me. Just a quick word about Jude Bellingham. Whenever the day is that you decide to call it a day for England, Do you think he's the next candidate to be England captain? Yeah, I think he definitely has attributes to be captain. I think him and Declan, to be honest, Declan as well, has shown great leadership and both of them have, you know, took that role on and, yeah, I try and help as much as I can, giving advice, giving my experience and leading by example and all those things. But for sure, you know, I think whenever the day is that I'm not captain anymore. I think it'll be between those two. And they're both different in that aspect. It'll probably depend on what the manager wants from his captain. But, yeah, Jude has been incredible. He's not just the way he plays. He's obviously a special player, a one-of-a-kind type of player. But I felt like, especially... Will you personally rather win the Masters? Or the Super Bowl? Wow, what a question. The Masters. Okay, you love your golf, I know you love your golf. Who's going to win the Ballon d'Or first, Bellingham or Alisse? Ha ha ha. What a question. Thank you. That is just one I cannot answer. I love them both. Okay, just cough if you think Bellingham. I'll cough for you, okay. Bye-bye. And, Lyle, you have to say one or the other, right? And if you do come back to the Premier League, any club, or would it definitely be Spurs? Oh. All the tough questions at the end just before I go in. Come on, H, give me that one. Give me that one headline. Anyone or just Spurs? You come back. Who knows, guys. I can't tell you, honestly. Time will tell. Okay. Thank you for coming. Have you enjoyed it? Do you enjoy having these chats? Is it something you'd like to do afterwards or would you like to get into management? What do you see your future? NFL kicker, isn't he? Oh, yeah, NFL kicker, yeah. Yeah, I'll be honest. I'll probably leave all this stuff to you guys still. And yeah, I might just slowly go away into the sunset somewhere. Okay, well, you deserve it. We're really... Congratulations again for tomorrow night and the Ballon d'Or and everything in your career. You've just been... You've just been magnificent to watch and I enjoyed talking to you. I know it's been a lot. I've driven your brother absolutely mad to put this together. So thank you to him but more importantly thank you to you for your time for coming on to TalkSport to coming on to drive and having a chat. I genuinely appreciate every single minute we have with you Harry. No I appreciate it guys. Thanks for having me. Thanks Harry. Appreciate it. Cheers guys. Thank you. There you go. The wonderful Harry Kane. How good was that? I think a round of applause. He was incredible. Absolutely incredible. Spoke really well. I'm going to get in so much trouble. 15 minutes. Yeah, yeah. 23 in the end. Sorry. Sorry, but, you know, he speaks so well. It's difficult to get anything. Did you feel as though he did want to come back? Because I thought he was really honest when he said, If you would have asked me maybe like two, three years ago, I would have said, yeah, definitely. But he enjoys life so much in Germany now. I think so. And it's almost like there's a freshness to him. You know, sometimes you go to the international sometimes and people get a little bit tired. But he looks like, with that winter, he spoke about it at the winter break. Yeah. He just seems, sorry. I can tell you something. Oh, okay. He just seems fresh now. Like fresh and I think he's having a great time over there. When you look at little videos of him with Bayern Munich and all that, I can't see him. What's he coming back for? What's he got to prove? Well, he's got nothing to prove but the 260. I mean, if I'm him and I'm in Germany for the next two years and I'm winning everything, right, who knows what's going to happen to... to England with him but you want to come back and tick one more if you've got a chance to tick him one more box yeah but there's no guarantee he'll come back and break no there is no there is no but you know Pochettino back at Man United link up with him up top banging in the goals for United at 39 I look at him he just seems really happy yeah where he's at and I quite like the fact of that because I've said to you before too many people think it's Premier League or nothing and you've got Ben in them Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Thank you.