England captain Harry Kane has developed a surprising new hobby ahead of Euro 2024.
The 30-year-old striker has enjoyed an impressive individual season for Bayern Munich after leaving Tottenham Hotspur and the Premier League last summer.
Kane netted 36 goals and added eight assists across his 32 starts in the Bundesliga - although it wasn't enough to secure the title.
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Bayern had previously won the top flight of German football for the last decade but missed out in Kane's first campaign in Germany, as Bayer Leverkusen lifted the trophy for the first time.
Kane and his teammates also suffered defeat in the Champions League semi-final to the eventual winners Real Madrid, as he ended the 2023/24 as he so often does, without a trophy.
Regardless of this, his attention will now shift to Euro 2024 with England as Gareth Southgate's side look to go one step further than Euro 2020 - after losing to Italy in the final at Wembley Stadium.
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Speaking ahead of the first game of Group C against Serbia on Sunday, Kane has revealed the new hobby he has picked up in order to switch off from football but also stay sharp mentally.
“I use chess just to switch off, you know, it’s such a mental game," the England forward said.
“You have to focus on every moment, every move.”
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Kane was reportedly inspired by the Netflix TV series 'The Queen's Gambit' and has even challenged some of his Bayern teammates to get better at the game.
“Joshua Kimmich — we had quite a few games. I think Kingsley Coman is the best, but I haven’t actually played him yet. I’m trying to get a bit more practice in before I play ‘King’.”
Kane has been used sparingly during the friendlies against both Bosnia & Herzegovina and Iceland due to a back issue that sidelined him for the last two games of Bayern's season.
Topics: Harry Kane, England, Euro 2024, Bayern Munich
Patrick Rowe