Harry Kane says facing England teammate Jude Bellingham the Champions League semi-finals vindicates the pair’s moves abroad.
Kane’s Bayern Munich progressed to the semi-finals with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Arsenal on Wednesday and Bellingham’s Real Madrid were later confirmed as their last-four opponents after their penalty shootout win against Manchester City.
Bellingham or Kane — and his Bayern teammate Eric Dier — could become the first English male players to win the Champions League with an overseas club since Owen Hargreaves won the competition with Bayern Munich in 2001.
“I’m really happy for him (Bellingham) but it will be another war against his team,” Kane said. “That’s the experiences we both went abroad to try to achieve: to play in these big nights in the Champions League, to play in these big semi-finals. It will be one to enjoy and I’m sure there will be a lot of English fans watching both of us.”
Kane joined Bayern from Tottenham Hotspur last summer and this represents the furthest he has got in the Champions League since reaching the final with Spurs in 2019.
Bellingham has played overseas since joining Borussia Dortmund from Birmingham in 2020. Wednesday’s win marked the first time the midfielder had reached the Champions League semi-finals, following quarter-final, group stage and last-16 exits with Dortmund.
(Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
The 20-year-old joined Madrid last summer and the quarter-final tie at the Etihad was his maiden club appearance in England since joining the Spanish side, allowing his 18-year-old brother, Sunderland midfielder Jobe, to watch him as a Madrid player for the first time.
“It was beautiful, my brother’s here today and it’s the first time he’s got to see me play for Madrid,” Bellingham told TNT Sports.
“I feel really proud of that kind of stuff. It’s the main part of why I do it, to be honest. I get a lot of fun out of playing football but the idea of being able to play a game and come home to my mum and dad is one of the things I love the most.”
Bayern host Madrid in the semi-final first leg on April 30, before the return leg at the Bernabeu on May 8.
They will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Dortmund in the final, which takes place at Wembley, England’s national stadium, on June 1.
“With Wembley being our national stadium, it’s extra motivation there for us,” Kane added. “But there are two games ahead of us before that, which are going to be really tough, so we have to focus on that.”
(Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Read the full article here