H. Kane, striker for FC Bayern Munich, gave an interview to Hargreaves in which he reviewed his performance from the past season, scoring 73 goals for club and country. He discussed various topics including the Ballon d'Or, his personal form, his Bayern teammate Kompany's team leadership, Champions League goals, and his life in Munich. This is the first part of the interview.

Hargreaves: I'm here in Munich with H. Kane, one of the best strikers in world football, and we're going to talk about what's arguably the best season of his career. How does it feel to have achieved such success?

H. Kane: Honestly, I feel great.

If someone had told you before that you'd score 73 goals across your entire career, most people would say "you'd have had a great career." But you scored 73 goals in a single season. I mean, it's incredible really. Sometimes when you think about it yourself, does it still feel unbelievable?

Yes, when you put it that way, it's hard to imagine. 73 goals is an insane number. If I look back at that performance now, if I were a kid watching someone do that, I'd definitely think "my goodness, that's too much..."

When I was looking at those statistics, I thought "no way." I mean, you couldn't even do that on PlayStation.

Exactly. Because growing up, I watched Messi and Ronaldo play. They dominated the game during that era. Clearly, Messi is the only one who's scored more than me—he got 82 goals—but even looking at their records from other seasons, Ronaldo's highest single-season tally is 69 goals.

So these numbers seem like extraordinary statistics that only two people have achieved. Of course, they're truly special. They're undoubtedly the two greatest players of our era. Right now I'm ranked second in history. I don't think that fact has fully sunk in yet. 73 goals—even for me, it's... yes, I'm still very surprised.

Did you ever imagine you'd score so many goals in a single season?

I never liked setting limits for myself before each season. I might set an ambitious target and then see how far I can actually go.

This season, my goal tally increased by almost 20 compared to my previous career high. As a striker, I've had great seasons before. I'm someone who plays off momentum. I started this season very well, scored in the Super Cup, then got a hat-trick in my first Bundesliga match, and I maintained that momentum throughout.

As each game came around, with our style of play and the way we approach the game, I knew I'd get chances. So throughout the season, I rode that momentum. Of course, I also did a lot of work off the pitch, including recovery and maintaining my fitness to ensure I could play every game. I think that's another crucial factor that enabled me to score so many goals.

Is that something you started prioritizing more toward the later stages of your career?

Yes, I'd say that over the past six or seven years, it's been a major part of my career. I think when you're around 27 or 28, you start to realize "okay, this career can't go on forever."

You have to tell me—I retired at age 31.

Right, that's what I mean.

And I still thought I was a professional footballer back then. Now you're 33, and you keep getting better with age. Back then, at 33, you were almost finished. But now I think many footballers can play until they're 37 or 38.

I think that's true. I watch footballers like Messi and Ronaldo, and as I've mentioned, they continued to develop well into their 30s, even at 35 or 36. I genuinely feel like I'm at my peak right now—both physically, I feel very strong, and mentally too.

And I think for any team or coach, having a player available to play is very important. I try to ensure I can play as much as possible for the team. That allows me to maintain this level of performance and score these goals.

Have you set a target for yourself, like hoping to play until a certain age?

No, at this stage, I think you just have to make the most of these moments while they last. In my current condition, I feel great, so what I'm thinking right now is "okay, how do I maintain this form and keep it going?" Of course, we all know it can't last forever.

But at least for now, I want to maintain this peak for as long as I possibly can. And clearly right now I'm playing for FC Bayern Munich, so I know I'll be competing for the title every year and also competing for the Champions League. At club level, there are still things I want to win, and the same goes for the England national team. So the most important thing now is to make the most of this period for as long as I can.

Do you know how many of your goals last season were one-touch finishes?

No idea.

43.

Really?

Yes, incredible, isn't it? Your first touch is already excellent.

But if you think about it, many of those goals come from crosses being played in, including penalties or chances after set-pieces. So often it's about instinct and positioning. What you need to do is react to the opportunity and finish.

Because at this level, you don't have much time in those areas. If you do need to take a touch, it has to be good, and then you have to finish quickly. Or your shooting technique has to be quick and efficient. So 43 seems a bit surprising to me, but if you think about it, that's just the nature of the game. You need to have the ability to finish with one touch, otherwise it's hard to succeed at the highest level.

How's your German coming along? What's your German level like?

Not very well, especially when you leave here for two months and don't hear German at all. I'm still learning, slowly. My kids are picking it up much faster than I am.

Yes, children are like sponges.

That's right. But I'm still learning. I hope that one day I'll be able to speak German comfortably in interviews or speak some German when having conversations, but it's really difficult. I don't know how you feel when learning a language, but for me it's quite hard. So it will take a bit more time, but I hope to be able to construct full sentences in German at some point.

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