Striker calls tribute ‘special’ – but fans liken it to shelved Ronaldo artwork

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England captain Harry Kane has voiced his hope that a new statue of him at his first club will inspire youngsters to follow in his footsteps – but fans on social media have likened the work to a Cristiano Ronaldo carving that was ordered to be taken down.

Three Lions all-time top scorer Kane helped unveil the work on Monday, visiting the Peter May Centre which is home to Ridgeway Rovers, the team he played for as a child before settling at Tottenham’s academy.

The piece, which shows Kane sitting on a green bench with a football on his knee, has had a mysterious path to its new home in east London, with MailOnline reporting that it was originally commissioned by the local council and completed in 2020 at a cost of £7,200.

A purported plan to position it at a train station in Kane’s nearby birthplace of Chingford is said to have been scrapped following a Transport for London risk assessment, and subsequent proposals to put it in Ridgeway Park, where the striker once played, were also reportedly rejected.

Kane: Statue ‘a great reminder’

“It’s pretty special,” Kane told the outlet, speaking at the facilities Rovers have played in since 2016, where a mural of him has also been created.

“These are things I didn’t even think of when I was young. I dreamed of playing for England, playing in the Premier League and being a professional footballer but these little moments are special, when you look back.

“I come back here and this is where I first started playing football for Ridgeway Rovers and then my school team, Chingford Foundation. This is where it all began, where the building blocks in my career started.

“To have this is a great reminder of all of the journey, and the mural as well. It’s a great inspiration for the young boys and girls who still play here to one day be in the same shoes as I am, to know that their dreams can come true.”

Kane took selfies on his phone with the lifesize work, signed the wall and posted about the event on his online platforms, but several readers appeared to question the quality of the likeness, replying with photos of a botched tribute to Ronaldo.

The statue of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner was placed at the airport in his home island of Madeira in 2017, only to be replaced the following year following widespread mockery.

At the time, AFP reported that “people close to Ronaldo” had requested its removal, adding that it bore a “strange smile and lack of resemblance” to the Portugal captain.

There have been numerous instances of commissions for footballer statues backfiring. The Swedish FA created a tribute to Blagult record scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2017, but the work was repeatedly vandalised and ultimately removed shortly after its installation at the forward’s first club, Malmo, in 2019.

Fans were angry with Ibrahimovic over his purchase of a stake in one of Malmo’s rivals, Hammarby, a month after the 500kg bronze took up residence outside their home stadium.

All-time Tottenham top scorer Kane was asked about the prospect of a statue being built of him outside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before he left for current club Bayern Munich in August 2023.

“It’s not really my decision, I guess,” Kane told Sky Sports, responding to comments by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy that he hoped a work would be built “one day”.

“I’ve been here since I was 11 years old… a statue is a statue. It’s not something that’s going to make or break my career.”

Kane: Beckham ‘someone I looked up to’

Kane retained his characteristic professionalism and humility on his return to Ridgeway, a day after scoring his 69th international goal in a 5-0 win over the Republic of Ireland at Wembley to seal England’s Nations League promotion.

“I’m just a normal guy from Chingford who had a dream of what I’m doing now,” he said. “Through a lot of hard work and self-belief, I was able to make that happen.

“[Former England captain] David Beckham was someone I looked up to when I was young and he’s from Chingford as well. It makes it more realistic for [people] to think that it is possible.

“It’s a great thing for them to see this, see the journey and know that one day it could be them.”




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