Harry Kane toppled yet another record in what is rapidly becoming a career-best campaign with Bayern Munich.
Kane’s strike against Club Brugge on Wednesday evening was Bayern’s second in a 3–0 win and his 20th of the season. As a reminder, England’s captain has made just 12 appearances for his club side.
Throughout their legendary careers, neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo ever managed to amass 20 club goals in just a dozen outings. Ronaldo came close in 2014–15, hitting that landmark figure in 13 Real Madrid games, while Messi never hit 20 goals in fewer than 17 appearances for any of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain or Inter Miami.
Messi and Ronaldo Can’t Keep Up With Kane
Kane needed just 742 minutes to amass 20 combined goals and assists, toppling the high watermark Messi set during his rampant 2011–12 campaign, yet even that Ballon d’Or-winning iteration of the Argentine couldn’t match the English forward’s start to 2025–26.
This blistering start has prompted many to rank Kane as one of the leading contenders for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. The former Tottenham Hotspur forward finished 13th in voting for the individual award in 2025, behind both of Paris Saint-Germain’s fullbacks, and has never troubled the upper echelons of the vote during his remarkably spartan search for a trophy.
Now a Bundesliga champion with Bayern, a deep run in the Champions League could belatedly quash the talk of Kane’s perennially underrated reputation. Triumph with England at the 2026 World Cup wouldn’t hurt his chances either.
There is no secret to Kane’s success. He puts it down to a work ethic few in the sport can match which is fuelled by a desire “to prove people wrong” and justify to himself that he is “good enough.”
“I think that until I stop playing I will have that attitude,” Kane reflected to The Guardian last season. “Deep down that motivates me to be better when I’m training, when I’m doing the finishing sessions on my own, stuff I probably might not have to do still but want to do. Because I want to prove there’s room for improvement.”
Harry Kane’s Insatiable Start to the Season
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Harry Kane Surpasses Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo With Latest Staggering Feat.
