Kane hits back at Hamann goal-scoring criticism

Harry Kane has hit back at former Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann's comments that implied the England captain doesn't score enough goals in big games.

Kane has scored 64 goals and contributed 21 assists in 62 matches for Bayern since signing for the Bundesliga giants from Tottenham in 2023. He was presented with the Torjägerkanone award after netting 36 goals in his debut season in the German league in 2023-24.

This season, Kane's 20 goals in 17 matches have been boosted by hat tricks against Holsten Kiel and Stuttgart, as well as a four-goal haul against Dinamo Zagreb. Although he scored in Bayern's 4-1 defeat to Barcelona, Kane failed to find the back of the net in matches against Bayer Leverkusen, Aston Villa, Benfica and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Hamann had said in October that Kane "wasn't brought in to score a hat trick against Darmstadt."

Kane has so far failed to win a major trophy in his senior professional career, with his arrival in Germany coinciding with Bayern's first failed title bid since 2012 as Leverkusen topped the Bundesliga.

The 31-year-old, who is Spurs' and England's all-time record goal scorer, became the fastest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, eclipsing previous record-holder Erling Haaland, with a hat trick in Bayern's 3-0 win over Augsburg on Friday.

"Yeah maybe it's a little bit out of context," Kane told a news conference on Monday. "I think if you look at my goals last season against some of the bigger teams: Dortmund away, Stuttgart -- all those types of games ... Yeah maybe it's taken a little out of context, but look, I try to to score in every game, I try to help the team in every game. Obviously this week is a really big week and we know that.

"As the striker in the team and the goal scorer in the team, I want to help the team by scoring goals, for sure, But as always, I always feel like my performances are more than just goals, both with and without the ball. So, if we get three wins and I don't score, I'll be happy and the coach will be happy so that's the most important thing."

Kane was responding to a question about a Sky Germany column written after Bayern's Champions League defeat to Villa on Oct. 2 in which Hamann said he remains unconvinced by Kane's prowess on the biggest stages.

"Harry Kane had a personally sobering evening in Birmingham -- in addition to the defeat," Hamann wrote.

"I said after the European Championship in the summer that he still has to prove that he is worth the 100 million -- even though he scored over 30 goals last year.

"He wasn't brought in to score a hat trick against Darmstadt. He was brought in to score against Leverkusen and Aston Villa and to score in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

"He hasn't done that yet. I remain sceptical about the star striker."

Bayern host Paris Saint-Germain at the Allianz Arena in their fifth Champions League league stage game on Tuesday.