Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed a golden era at Real Madrid. From 2009 to 2018—over nine years—there was hardly anything he did not achieve on the green turf of the Santiago Bernabéu. The Portuguese superstar single-handedly shattered almost every record in the club’s history.
He elevated himself to the status of one of the greatest footballers of all time. For anyone hoping to rule in Madrid’s iconic white jersey now, surpassing the mountain of statistics left behind by “CR7” remains the biggest challenge.
Standing before that very challenge today is Kylian Mbappé. The French forward is in sensational form. This season, he has scored 34 goals in 28 matches. Last night, he netted a brace against Villarreal in La Liga, setting a new milestone.
After his first 54 La Liga matches, Mbappé’s goal tally now stands at 52, compared to Ronaldo’s 50 goals in the same number of games. That means Mbappé has edged past Ronaldo in Spain’s top league at this stage.
However, despite leading in the league, Mbappé is still trailing Ronaldo in overall terms. The French star has so far played 87 matches for Real Madrid, scoring 78 goals.
By contrast, Ronaldo had scored 82 goals in his first 87 matches for the club. In other words, Mbappé is still four goals behind the “boss” Ronaldo. Ronaldo was especially devastating in La Liga, where he scored 62 goals in just 61 matches.
The difference in competitions is also a major factor. Ronaldo’s first 87 matches were largely limited to three tournaments—La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey. Mbappé, on the other hand, has been playing across seven different competitions. From the Spanish Super Cup to the Club World Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, Mbappé’s goals have been spread across all fronts.
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