Harry Kane is approaching Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's level, says impressed Rio Ferdinand

Kane's 'perfect' treble, delivered by his left foot, right foot and head, was his first in the Champions League and impressed former England defender Ferdinand

Ferdinand was quick to praise Kane (Getty)

Tottenham striker Harry Kane is almost as good as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – at least in the opinion of former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.

Kane was in scintillating form in the Champions League on Tuesday night, scoring a hat-trick as Tottenham saw off APOEL 3-0 in Cyprus.

He has now scored five goals in two Champions League appearances this season, meaning that he is currently the top-scoring payer in the competition. Ronaldo is behind him, with four.

And Ferdinand believes that Kane, 24, now deserves to be ranked alongside the Real Madrid star and five-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi.

“Those kind of stats are up there with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo,” he said on BT Sport when asked to pass comment on Kane's impressive record of six hat-tricks for Tottenham in 2017 – as many as Messi (2), Ronaldo (2) and Robert Lewandowski (2) combined.

“He's quickly letting people know that he is here to stay. A couple of seasons ago everyone was asking if he could repeat his first two seasons by getting 20-plus goals.

“He's scoring all types of goals. He'd be a nightmare to play against at centre half.”

Ferdinand thinks Kane is as good as Messi and Ronaldo (Getty)

Manager Mauricio Pochettino was also keen to praise the “unbelievable” Kane after Tottenham’s win, although he was less willing to press the Ronaldo comparisons.

“Cristiano is fantastic, one of the best,” Pochettino said. “Harry is one of the best and will get better because he's so young. I cannot joke about that because both are fantastic.

“Both are the type of players you want in your team, in the same team."

Pochettino added that Spurs are looking forward to their next European match – away to current holders Real Madrid – because it will give him a better idea of what his team’s current “level” is.

“We are going to play against the best team in the world because I think Real Madrid are the best right now,” he added.

“This season they are showing they are the best. You never know. We will be very motivated to play them. We know very well the quality they have.

“It's a big challenge for us to try to see what is our level and if we can compete in this type of level.”