Harry Kane is arguably the greatest Tottenham player of all-time.
The BBC might have sparked a fierce debate after ranking Harry Kane second on their list of the greatest centre-forwards of the 21st century, placing him ahead of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. The rankings, released recently, might not sit well with the Gooners.
Kane sits second behind only Ronaldo Nazario in the BBC’s rankings, with the Bayern Munich striker ahead of names including Henry, Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Luis Suarez. Erling Haaland has also been ranked higher than several of those legendary names despite his relatively short career so far.
The England captain has enjoyed a remarkable career, recently reached 500 goals in 743 appearances across all competitions. He reached the milestone on February 14 with a brace in a 3-0 win over Werder Bremen, with 100 of those goals coming from penalties. Kane became the fastest player to reach 100 goals for one club in a top-five European league this century, achieving the feat in just 104 games for Bayern Munich.
Harry Kane’s trophy cabinet is finally growing
For years, the lack of silverware hung over Kane’s legacy. But the 32-year-old finally broke his duck last season, winning the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich. He added the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup in August 2025 after scoring in a 2-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart. The former Tottenham man has been phenomenal in Germany, sitting on 109 goals in 116 games for the Bavarians.
His international record is equally impressive. Kane is England’s all-time top scorer and captained the Three Lions to back-to-back European Championship finals in 2021 and 2024. He also secured England’s qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a brace in a 5-0 win over Latvia in October 2025.
In the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League, Kane ranks third among the top goalscorers and is the highest Bayern Munich goalscorer in the tournament as of February 25, 2026, having netted eight goals in eight matches. He also overtook David Beckham to become the Englishman with the most goals and assists combined in Champions League history.
The Harry Kane-Thierry Henry debate that BBC might have just stirred
Thierry Henry’s omission from the top two will certainly cause controversy. The Frenchman won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and the Champions League with Barcelona in 2008. He became Arsenal’s all-time record goalscorer with 228 goals and France’s record scorer before Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe surpassed him.
Other, high-profile names to miss the top 10 entirely include Samuel Eto’o, 2004 Ballon d’Or winner Andriy Shevchenko, and Ruud van Nistelrooy. Luis Suarez sits ninth despite breaking Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s stranglehold on the European Golden Shoe twice and winning six league titles across his career.