Don’t call me Sir – but Harry Kane would be ‘massively proud’ if knighted

Harry Kane would be “massively proud” to be knighted, but admits it would be “weird” to have everyone calling him Sir.

The England and Bayern Munich striker won the Ballon d’Or award on Monday night after a stellar year for club and country, and has been priced at 3-1 by bookmaker William Hill to be knighted by 2030.

Speaking about the prospect of a knighthood after Bayern’s DFB-Pokal win over Magdeburg, Kane told reporters: “I wouldn’t say no to it, that’s for sure.

“If it happens it’ll be incredible, and something I’ll be massively proud of. But I don’t want to get too carried away.”

Asked about how it would feel to be Sir Harry Kane, he replied: “It would sound good, but I’d feel weird everyone calling me Sir. So we’ll just keep it as Harry for now.”

A No 10 Downing Street spokeswoman passed on Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s congratulations to Kane on Tuesday and when asked about a knighthood, she said: “I think everyone would agree, Harry Kane has given an enormous amount to English football, and this is a very special moment for him and the country, but, as ever, I’m not going to pre-empt the honours process.”

Michael Owen was the last player from England to receive the prestigious individual accolade in 2001, before Kane’s incredible 73-goal haul last season for club and country earned him the award from French magazine France Football.

He followed in the footsteps of Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Owen as a Ballon d’Or winner from England.

Kane remained on the bench as his Bayern team-mates secured a 6-1 win in their cup match on Wednesday night.

He said: “So much has happened in 48 hours. It was nice to kind of be back a bit in normality, seeing the fans, getting the reception before the game.

“It’s been a whirlwind of a 48 hours, and it’s nice to just be here and feel at home.”