Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane is aiming to emulate Lionel Messi’s Champions League goalscoring feats as he prepares to face the Barcelona great at Wembley on Wednesday.
England international Kane will be targeting his 10th strike in his 12th Champions League match, while it took Messi 23 games to get into double figures in the competition.
Messi has scored 103 Champions League goals, the second-highest total in the tournament’s history, and Kane said: “He’s set the standard. I think him and [Cristiano] Ronaldo have gone above the normal standards that other people have been set in the years gone past.
“When you’re scoring as many goals as he has — 40 or 50 a season — as a striker, I want to try to match that and do the same.
“It motivates me to get even better and improve and hopefully one day score as many, if not more, than he has.”
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said he believed Kane could achieve that ambition.
“Harry is capable of everything,” he said. “He is showing that quality and talent in the Premier League of course.
“Then we are capable every season, Tottenham, of being in the Champions League and matching teams like Madrid or Barcelona. We will be close to matching these type of players.
“For me, Harry Kane is one of the best strikers in the world. He is for sure going to have a lot of chances to score goals in the Champions League.”
Tottenham beat European champions Real Madrid 3-1 during last season’s group stage, and Kane is keen for a similar performance against Barcelona.
“Hopefully we can produce that same energy,” he said. “That was a great night for us. The crowd were amazing and that’s what we need tomorrow night.
“It’s going to be a full house I’m sure and if we can get them on their feet as soon as possible and create some chances, and hopefully take one or two of them early in the game, that will put us in a great position for the rest of the night.