Harry Kane insists he will relish the “new pressure” of challenging to win titles every year at Bayern Munich and knows success in Germany can put his name in the Ballon d’Or conversation.
It has been a whirlwind week for the England captain after he departed boyhood club Tottenham on Saturday for an initial £100million fee, which could rise to £120m with add-ons.
Kane made his Bayern debut later that same night in the DFL-Supercup but his wait for a first trophy goes on after RB Leipzig inflicted a 3-0 defeat on the Bundesliga champions.
The 30-year-old is eager to add team success to a host of individual honours on his CV during his time in Munich.
“A lot of people talk about the trophies and why I came here, but ultimately it was to improve,” Kane told Sky Sports.
“To feel a new pressure of having to win titles every year, having to go far in the Champions League and pushing myself to that limit.
“I think if you’re winning games, winning titles, winning Champions Leagues and I’m the one playing up front, it more than likely means I am scoring goals so that allows you to win other individual awards.
“But that all comes from what you achieve as a team. That’s my focus first and foremost and that all starts on Friday.
“We have a long season ahead. A lot of pressure for Bayern Munich to win the league and go far in the Champions League. That is what I am excited to try and challenge myself with.”
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An outstanding 2017 resulted in Kane finishing 10th in the Ballon d’Or list but Spurs have endured a difficult few seasons since they made the Champions League final in 2019.
With Kane aware his chances of winning silverware were reducing at Tottenham, the forward made the decision to leave the north London club after a 19-year association.
He hinted part of the decision to leave Spurs was to play in the Champions League and have no regrets at the end of his career.
Kane added: “If you’re winning your league, winning the Champions League and we obviously have the European Championship next summer as well, I think as we’ve seen with the Ballon d’Or, you have to be winning team trophies to achieve that.
“Yeah, if I am scoring goals and we’re winning trophies then of course that will come into question, but it is not really what my focus is on right now.
“I’ve always said throughout my whole career I never want to retire and feel like I could have done more or pushed myself more. That was a big part of the decision-making coming here.
“I felt like to improve and to get better I had to be playing at the highest level.
“Of course I want to win every competition that I play in, that’s the goal every season but when you finish your career, you want to make sure you pushed yourself to the limits and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Marc Skinner signs Manchester United Women contract extension
Marc Skinner has signed a one-year contract extension as Manchester United Women head coach with the option of a further 12 months.
The 41-year-old guided United to their first major silverware last weekend with victory over Tottenham in the Women's FA Cup final.
United are fifth in the Women's Super League with one game to go - a massive drop on last term's runners-up finish - but Skinner will stay on.
"It's an honour to extend my stay at Manchester United," Skinner, who was appointed in 2021, told United's official website after the news was confirmed on Friday.
"I've always felt at home here, with our excellent players, staff, and fans.
"Being able to secure the team's first major trophy at Wembley was a real career highlight for me and another sign of our continued growth, on and off the field."
United conclude their campaign on Saturday against Chelsea, who lead Manchester City on goal difference entering the final day.
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