LONDON — Harry Kane is employing a personal chef who cooks for him on a daily basis to “make every day count” in his quest to reach the world-class levels of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 24-year-old striker revealed that he was making every effort to ensure he is in top condition, with end-of-season fatigue and burn-out having been an issue for Premier League players at previous finals, such as Euro 2016, where he disappointed.
“I think, over the last year or so now, I’ve changed a lot off the pitch with the nutrition side of it,” Kane explained. “It kind of clicked in my head that a football career is so short. It goes so quickly, you have to make every day count.
“So, I have a chef at home to eat the right food, helping recovery. You can’t train as hard as you’d like when you have so many games, so you have to make the little gains elsewhere, like with food. That will help me going into a tournament year, with my body and my recovery.”
Kane made the dietary change at the turn of the year. “I was always eating well, never badly,” he said. “But I have a guy come round and he explained what you could do, eating the right food at the right times. You could eat healthily all week and then carbs [carbohydrates] before a game, and that could make your body go into shock because you’re not used to it. So, maybe higher carbs sometimes, lower other times, making plans around training. I started doing that on January 1, a New Year resolution.
“I met the guy in December. I spoke to him and it blew me away a bit. I’d never looked too much into it, but when he explained what the body does and how he could help me recover… He helped me in the recovery from the [ankle ligament] injury, with certain foods I was eating. It opened my eyes a bit.
“He’s there [at Kane’s home] every day, Monday to Saturday, and leaves it in the fridge for Sunday. I hardly ever see him because I’m at training, but he’ll cook the food and leave it in the fridge. We’ve got a good plan going and it seems to be working.”
Kane added: “When you’re playing Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, there’s not a lot of time to train, so it’s about making those little gains in other ways: ice baths, stretching, nutrition… that keeps you as fresh as you can be.
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“It’s a big part of football nowadays. Other players are doing the same thing. My career has gone so quick already, I want to make the most of it.”
Kane has always been clear about his ambition to become England’s next permanent captain, ahead of the other main candidate, Jordan Henderson, and the impressive way he spoke may well have influenced manager Gareth Southgate, who was sitting alongside him.
Southgate has previously discussed how the forward compares himself to players such as Ronaldo and Messi and, in particular, their goal returns at his age.
“I appreciate good players,” Kane said. “Messi and Ronaldo, they’re doing it every week consistently. That’s what I aspire to do. It’s good to have the appreciation, but I have to focus on what I want to do.”
Kane has had an outstanding year since his change in diet, and has taken his total to 36 goals in 31 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur in the calendar year — which is nine goals fewer than Messi for Barcelona, although the Argentine has played 12 more games. It is, however, more than Ronaldo, who has 31 goals in 34 matches for Real Madrid. In addition, Kane has five goals in just five England games.
Kane will be up against Ronaldo soon, with Spurs having back-to-back Champions League ties against Real Madrid.
Kane, who does not drink alcohol during the season, said the main change to his diet had been to eat more fish.
“I’m not a big fish fan, but he [the chef] has got me eating fish. A few spices on that to help,” he said. “I’m not saying I don’t eat a bad thing.”
—Telegraph
