Cristiano Ronaldo shirt swap delights Harry Kane

With another coat of self-belief applied to Tottenham’s progress, Harry Kane made eye contact with Cristiano Ronaldo, the pair embraced and agreed to exchange shirts.

Like the iconic Bobby Moore and Pele moment at Mexico 70, here was another portrait of mutual respect between two of the world’s best footballers thrown together in competition.

For Kane, still climbing to reach his full potential, a cuddle from Ronaldo came like a symbol of acceptance from someone who has spent a decade at the very top.

Harry Kane and Cristiano Ronaldo were quick to embrace each other following the stalemate

Kane revealed Ronaldo agreed to swap shirts and plans to get the Real Madrid kit framed

Kane revealed Ronaldo agreed to swap shirts and plans to get the Real Madrid kit framed

‘I asked for his shirt,’ said Kane. ‘He’s a big role model of mine, watching him when I was growing up. It’s a nice shirt to get and frame. I gave him my shirt. I don’t know what he’ll do with it. We just said, “See you in a couple of weeks”.’

Spurs-Real the sequel will be at Wembley in a fortnight, a duel for top spot in Group H and a prospect to cherish if Tuesday’s 1-1 draw in Madrid is anything to go by.

‘It was a great night for us,’ said Kane. ‘We can be proud of it, the fans can be proud and the whole club can be proud.

‘It was a big statement. A few years ago we were playing Europa League and to come here to the Bernabeu and put in a performance like that — we drew and maybe could have won — shows what kind of team we are.

‘It will give us confidence for the Premier League. We’ve shown we can do it against the best team in the world. It’s a good incentive for us.

‘Everyone put in an amazing shift. For the majority of the game we matched them. We wanted to prove to everyone we are a very good team and we want to take that on for the rest of the season. We have to keep improving.’

Kane applauds the away fans while the Tottenham players behind him celebrate the point

Kane applauds the away fans while the Tottenham players behind him celebrate the point

Hugo Lloris produced heroics in goal and 21-year-old Harry Winks delivered another mature display in a midfield contest with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. 

‘When you step into the Bernabeu, you realise all the history and all the world-class players who have played there for Real Madrid and it has an impact,’ said Winks.

‘It’s a bit special and a bit overwhelming.

‘You are playing against players you look up to but it was important to take that emotion out of it and just go for them as I would any other player in the Premier League or any other game. As soon as the referee blows the whistle you take all the emotion out of it and just try to do your best.

‘The manager instils confidence in us all. He has a natural demeanour about him and you want to do well for him, to repay his faith.’

Kane missed Tottenham’s best chance of the game, foiled by an exceptional save from Keylor Navas but the England striker troubled Real enough to justify pre-match hype which saw Zinedine Zidane hail him as a ‘complete player’. The Spanish media agreed Kane had ‘passed the examination of the Bernabeu’.

Kane added: ‘I try to use it as motivation. Positive comments help a striker. It’s not just me, we’ve got a whole squad working very hard, but when you’ve got a striker scoring goals it’s natural for people to talk about that.’

In a new book, Pochettino has revealed the lifestyle adjustments made by Kane as he dedicated his life to football.

The 24-year-old has bought a second home to be closer to the Spurs training ground in Enfield and hired a chef as he fought to reduce his body-fat. 

Harry Winks was also impressive for Tottenham as they secured a point at the Bernabeu

Harry Winks was also impressive for Tottenham as they secured a point at the Bernabeu

‘Kane is a warrior,’ writes Pochettino in Brave New World. ‘He already was but he didn’t know he had it in him… that essential mental strength to stay in the elite.

‘He is the best player in the world in terms of mental strength, willpower and endeavour.’

Having cut his body-fat percentage from 18 to 10, Kane said: ‘I got the chef and I’ve got the gaffer working me hard every day. I’m about 10 per cent, so nearly half.

‘Eighteen is pretty high for an athlete. I had an injury at the end of the season before, an ankle injury with the England Under 21s. I still thought I was in OK shape but came back and I was 18 per cent body fat.

‘I didn’t want to believe it but it was a fact, I had to face it, had to work extra hard to lose it, had to be fit to play in his team.

‘So I made sure, made my mind-set ready for that and it’s worked out well.’

Kane revealed that a change in diet has allowed him to drastically reduce his body fat 

Kane revealed that a change in diet has allowed him to drastically reduce his body fat 

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