English Premier League
Harry Kane backs Paris Saint-Germain to retain Champions League crown
Harry Kane has named Paris Saint-Germain as his leading contender to win the Champions League this season, despite being a Bayern Munich player and having the German club among the teams he believes can challenge for the trophy.
The Champions League draw is taking place today, giving Marca the opportunity to ask Kane, the winner of the European Golden Shoe, who he expects to emerge as champions of the latest edition of the competition.
“I think Paris Saint-Germain are the favourites because they have won the title two years in a row,” Kane said. “Then, of course, there are other teams such as Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Barcelona… all the big teams will be there.”
Kane’s choice of Paris Saint-Germain reflects the French club’s recent success in Europe. However, he stressed that the tournament is still at an early stage and that there is a significant amount of football to be played before the eventual winner can be known.
“We have only just started,” he said. “We are at the foot of the mountain and still have a long way to go, with many games ahead, eight matches in the league phase, and then, of course, the entire knockout stage.”
His comments came after Bayern Munich’s run in last season’s competition ended in the semi-finals against Paris Saint-Germain, who went on to win the trophy. Kane believes his side performed well in Europe despite that narrow defeat.
“I think we had a really good campaign in Europe,” he said. “We lost to a great team like Paris Saint-Germain by a very small margin, so sometimes you have to accept these things and move forward.”
Bayern Munich’s attention is now firmly on the new season, with Kane saying the club has responded to the disappointment of the previous campaign by returning to work with the same ambition.
“Since the first day I have been here, I realised that the other players and the management came back to work with the same mentality,” Kane said. “Last season is over, and we will see what happens this season.”
The England striker added that Bayern Munich’s immediate objective was to continue improving and compete for silverware, with the Champions League among the club’s principal targets.
“Now our focus is on continuing to progress, trying to win this season, and of course the Champions League is one of our main goals,” he said.
Bayern Munich are therefore among the leading clubs expected to compete for the title, but Kane believes Paris Saint-Germain deserve to begin the campaign as the team to beat after their successive triumphs. Arsenal, Real Madrid and Barcelona are also part of the group of major European sides he expects to feature prominently in the competition.
