Humble Kane on meeting Maradona: 'I can only learn from someone like him'

Tottenham striker pays tribute to his Argentine hero even though he did not understand all that he said to him

Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - October 22, 2017 Tottenham's Harry Kane applauds fans as he walks off to be substituted after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Eddie Keogh EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.

Harry Kane, centre, wants to be the best player in the world. Eddie Keogh / Reuters

Oct 23, 2017

Tottenham Hotspur and England striker Harry Kane says he would love to learn some tricks from Argentine football hero Diego Maradona.

Kane - whose double in the 4-1 dismantling of Liverpool on Sunday took his tally to 45 goals in 40 games for Spurs and England this year - conceded he had not understood much of what Maradona, 56, said when he met him prior to Sunday's match.

An honour to meet one of the best of all time. Hopefully he enjoyed our performance as well! 🙌 ⚽ pic.twitter.com/MrkMK0yTPj
— Harry Kane (@HKane) October 23, 2017

Maradona's command of English is not thought to be terrific - indeed he remains a bogey man to some in England for his infamous 'Hand of God goal' in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final - and whilst there has been speculation Kane could decamp to one of Spain's big clubs next season his knowledge of Spanish is debatable.

"He's a fantastic guy [Maradona]. I got to meet him before the game - great energy, great guy," Kane said. "He is one of the best No 10s ever so it was great for him to be here.

"He didn't speak much English, just speaking in Spanish so I didn't really understand what he was saying but he was very energetic, he said some nice compliments, not just to me but to the team and to the manager [fellow Argentine Mauricio Pochettino].

"It was great to be in the company of someone like that. What a player he was and I can only learn from someone like him."

Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur vs Liverpool - Wembley Stadium, London, Britain - October 22, 2017 Diego Maradona applauds after Tottenham's Harry Kane scores their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details. — Diego Maradona applauds after Tottenham's Harry Kane scores their first goal against Liverpool on Sunday. Matthew Childs / Reuters

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Kane, who underwent his usual August drought before sparking spectacularly into goal scoring mode, said he wanted to supplant the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player in the world.

"At some stage I want to be the best player in the world and to do that you have to be up there with these players," Kane said.

"They set the standards, Ronaldo and Messi, so for the rest of us it's about trying to catch them and get up there," the 24-year-old Englishman added.