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Harry Kane Ballon d'Or England debate

Where does Harry Kane rank among England's greatest ever? That's the conversation now, and Moore, Charlton and Rooney are the names sitting at the table with him. Wild how fast the question changed. For years the thing trailing him was a single word, zero, and it meant no trophies, no medals, no convincing answer for anyone who doubted a striker this good would ever have the hardware to back up the goals. Records fell and it still came up. He carried teams and it still came up. Finals got lost, England got painfully close to glory, and eventually he left Tottenham hunting the one piece his career was missing. Then the résumé filled out: European Golden Shoe, Bundesliga top scorer, Champions League top scorer, and the Ballon d'Or on top. Same guy people had written off as cursed, the one they said would end up with nothing. He answered by keeping at it, scoring and creating, and making the case that few strikers in his generation are as complete. What gives the story its weight is everything before the trophy: the criticism, the near-misses that stung, and the refusal to let the dream go. That's what makes him a lock for the Mt. Rushmore of English football in my book.

3h

Yutaofficial@yutaofficial

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Harry Kane Ballon d'Or England debate

Where does Harry Kane rank among England's greatest ever? That's the conversation now, and Moore, Charlton and Rooney are the names sitting at the table with him. Wild how fast the question changed. For years the thing trailing him was a single word, zero, and it meant no trophies, no medals, no convincing answer for anyone who doubted a striker this good would ever have the hardware to back up the goals. Records fell and it still came up. He carried teams and it still came up. Finals got lost, England got painfully close to glory, and eventually he left Tottenham hunting the one piece his career was missing. Then the résumé filled out: European Golden Shoe, Bundesliga top scorer, Champions League top scorer, and the Ballon d'Or on top. Same guy people had written off as cursed, the one they said would end up with nothing. He answered by keeping at it, scoring and creating, and making the case that few strikers in his generation are as complete. What gives the story its weight is everything before the trophy: the criticism, the near-misses that stung, and the refusal to let the dream go. That's what makes him a lock for the Mt. Rushmore of English football in my book.

3h