Harry Kane had to compose himself and hold back the tears while reading beautiful letters from his children after breaking the England appearance record.
The 33-year-old earned his 126th cap and scored in the 2-1 win over Croatia on Thursday night, with the Wembley crowd celebrating his achievement and Ballon d’Or triumph.
And on the following morning, there was a surprise in store for the England skipper, who was visibly taken aback on camera when presented with letters from his four children, nine-year-old Ivy, eight-year-old Vivi, five-year-old Louis and three-year-old Henry, who he shares with wife Kate.
‘Wow, that’s uh a bit of a surprise,’ Kane said as he examined the letters and artwork. ‘I think you guys are trying to make me cry on camera.’
He opened the first one before reading aloud: ‘To Daddy, I love you very much and I want you to know that I’m very proud of you and also you are the best footballer in the world, the most kind Daddy in the world and the best striker in the world.
‘I would like to celebrate you playing the most games for England by holiday together and eating ice cream.
Harry Kane was on the verge of tears as he read touching letters from his four children
‘My favorite thing about you is you never give up and I love all things you do for us. Love Ivy.’
Dewy-eyed Kane then reflected: ‘I wasn’t expecting this beautiful letter. Thank you Ivy. I love you. I’ve got one here from Vivian as well.’
‘Dear Daddy, I’m so happy and proud of you. I love you because you are hard working and make the best fried eggs. I want to celebrate with you by going fishing, going down the water slides and having a cinema trip as well. Love from Vivi.’
Kane then said: ‘Yeah, you’ve caught me by surprise here to be honest with you. I’m trying to just uh, stay strong for the camera. Thank you Vivi, love you.’
Then came the letters from Kane’s two sons, Louis and Henry.
Louis’ read: ‘To Daddy, I love you so much because you train and work so hard. My favorite thing we do together is play football and cricket together. I love when you play England football because you score goals and we get to sing Vindaloo. I want to celebrate with you by making an ice cream house with sweets inside. Love Louis.’
‘Thank you Louie, love you, boy. This last one is from Henry,’ Kane said.
The short and sweet note from his youngest went: ‘Daddy, you are the winner. Vindaloo! Love Henry.’
Kane walked onto the pitch with his children, (L-R) Henry, Ivy, Vivi, Louis on Thursday night
Kane showed the artwork and hand-written letters to the camera as he read them
Kane then pointed the endearing scribble to the camera, saying: ‘He’s drawn me a lovely picture there. Love you, Henry. Thank you, beautiful messages from my wonderful family.’
Kane, who lives with his family in Bavaria and recently signed a new deal worth £400,000-a-week at Bayern Munich, brought the whole clan, including his parents, to Wembley for his big night on Thursday.
He walked out onto the hallowed turf with his four children, admired a gigantic tifo of himself in the crowd, posed for pictures with the gleaming Ballon d’Or trophy and was given a commemorative shirt by Prince William.
Kane is a devoted family man in addition to being the world’s best footballer and took a moment to say a few words about his children at the Ballon d’Or ceremony last month.
He said: ‘To Ivy, Vivienne, Louis and Henry. You’re the reason I do this.
Prince William presented Kane with a commemorative framed shirt with 126 on the back
‘I don’t think you’ll fully maybe appreciate bringing this trophy home. I’ll bring a few others home, but this one is a special one, so I can’t wait to see you and celebrate with you.
‘I want to set a good example being a father but also being a professional and what it means to work hard, what it means to believe in yourself. I love you very much.’
Kane passed Peter Shilton as the record appearance-maker for England on Thursday and took his tally of goals for the national team to 92.
His penalty put England 2-1 up and they would not relinquish their lead. He’ll next be in action against Spain on Sunday.
