Harry Kane planning to quit football for new sport as England star causes surprise

 Harry Kane has outlined his three-stage career blueprint - with ambitions to quit football and move into the NFL. England captain Kane, 33, has revealed he is "fairly close" to agreeing a fresh deal at Bayern Munich which could extend his time in Germany until 2029. Kane also strongly suggested that his next move would be to Major League Soccer, which could "connect" him to a transition into American football as a specialist kicker.

The Ballon d'Or contender has previously discussed his passion for the NFL and maintains a close friendship with gridiron icon Tom Brady, and it's evident he's genuine about changing sports. Kane confirmed he's poised to extend his stay in the Bundesliga, turning down approaches from clubs including Barcelona and interest from the Saudi Pro League. Kane said: "We're in good talks, I'll be honest. We're fairly close. There's still some things that we need to iron out. I'm happy there. I think it won't be too long before there's some sort of announcement.

"I feel really comfortable in the team, with the coach, the environment. Like I touched on a bit earlier, at this level, I want to just be at this level, and push this level for as long as possible."

Kane, who scored 73 goals for club and country last season, subsequently revealed his long-term plans as he targets a switch to the United States, initially with MLS before moving into the NFL.

Kane, who is also an avid golfer, said: "That is something I will try and look at a bit more seriously. It all depends on what happens in my career over the next five or six years, the motivation and what I want to do.

"The NFL is a lot more realistic than the golf one, let's put it that way. If people know I am still on the top of my game here with football it is not a conversation that would be had.

"Maybe if I am in the MLS in the future or somewhere like that, it might be a thing where you could connect the two maybe with the seasons but again, it is in the back of my mind because right now, I am feeling that I want to play as long as I can.

"I think sometimes it is easy to get to my age, 33, you start thinking about retirement or the future but I am trying to extract everything I can from the last two, five or 10 years, I will keep going."

The England skipper says claiming the Ballon d'Or would be "unbelievable" - though he insists recognition from fellow professionals remains the ultimate accolade.

Kane is the bookmakers' frontrunner to secure the prestigious award as the world's finest player following an extraordinary campaign. The Bayern forward faces competition from the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.

With the ceremony taking place in London next month, Kane would be the first English winner in 25 years.

Kane said: "I know what I achieved last year was as good as anyone. So I don't want to shy away from that either. But ultimately, my mindset is to move on.

"I think the timing of the Ballon d'Or is tough, because you're already in a new season, you're already focused on what I can achieve this year. And after every game you're talking about what you've done last year. So it's hard for me to get my head around that.

"But. from my point of view, I've said, it would be unbelievable to win it, I'd be extremely proud to win it. I think I'm definitely in the running to win it, without a doubt.

"So time will tell, the voters will vote for who they want. Whether people doing more interviews or less interviews has an impact on that. It obviously has an impact socially, and on the debate around it, for sure.

"But the actual voters, I'm not 100 per cent sure. I think the voters will vote for who they think deserves it, and they'll have the information, the stats, and they'll decide.

"I think from my point of view, I've been happy... it makes me more proud when other people talk about me, when other team-mates or ex-players or whoever it is, people who compliment me on what I achieved, I think that makes me more proud than me trying to talk about it myself."