Tottenham's Harry Kane the first player to score more goals than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo in nearly a decade

Alex Young @alexwsyoung26 December 2017

Harry Kane has spoken of his pride after breaking the duopoly of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as Europe's top goalscorer in a calendar year.

Kane scored his second hat-trick in as many games to bring his tally for 2017 to 56 in all competitions for club and country.

Not since David Villa in 2009 has a player other than Messi and Ronaldo ended a calendar year with the most goals, with the Argentine once scoring a remarkable 91.

"I'm very proud of it," Kane told Sky Sports. "Messi and Ronaldo have dominated football for so long, so even to be compared to them and be up there with him is such a good feeling.

[I will be] working harder, doing more, doing more in training. The Premier League had such fine margins so anything you can do on the training field helps."

The three goals helped Tottenham beat Southampton 5-2 at Wembley Stadium, closing out the club's year with a thumping win in front of a home crowd.

Kane also broke the Premier League record for goals in a calendar year, surpassing Alan Shearer's record of 36 set in 1995 to score 39.

"It was hard not to think about [the records], of course, going into the game level. To get that goal early on and get that record was a great feeling.

"This year, physically, [I've focused on] recovery per game with such a busy scheudule and making sure I'm ready. I feel sharp, I feel at my best."

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