With a brace against Villarreal, Kylian Mbappe surpassed a Ballon d’Or winner’s milestone at Real Madrid, closing in on Cristiano Ronaldo’s record.
Kylian Mbappe faced early struggles adapting to Real Madrid after his arrival in the 2024-25 season. However, in recent months, the Frenchman has rediscovered his form, reinforcing his status as one of the world’s top players. In the process, he surpassed a milestone set by a Ballon d’Or winner at Real Madrid — and now has Cristiano Ronaldo‘s record in sight.
Real Madrid were set to visit Villarreal in a key game to keep on going in La Liga title race. Los Blancos fell behind early but came back to secure a vital victory, with Mbappe scoring twice to take the club to the top of the league — and achieve a significant milestone.
With those two goals, Mbappe reached 31 goals in his debut season with Real Madrid, surpassing Ronaldo Nazario‘s tally of 30 goals from his debut campaign in 2002-03 after signing from Inter Milan.
This achievement comes as a huge boost for Real Madrid, who had been waiting for the French forward to deliver this kind of impact. Now, Mbappe is closing in on Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut-season record at the club — 33 goals in the 2009-10 campaign following his move from Manchester United.
Mbappe still has at least 13 matches remaining before the start of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in June, giving him plenty of time to surpass Ronaldo’s mark. Notably, the Frenchman has already played 43 matches, while Ronaldo reached his tally in just 35 appearances.
Mbappe’s humble message after reaching the milestone
Despite turning things around following a difficult start in Madrid, Mbappe remains grounded. In an interview with Real Madrid TV, he addressed his recent milestone with a humble outlook.
“They are great legends who defined an era. That’s important, but these are just numbers,” Mbappe said when asked about surpassing Ronaldo Nazario and chasing Cristiano Ronaldo’s record. “If I score many more goals than Cristiano and Ronaldo, it doesn’t mean I’m greater—only that I had a better first season, thanks to my teammates. The most important thing is to help and win titles,” the striker stated.
“Scoring goals is very important, but if we don’t win titles, for me, it’s not worth it. It’s only worth it if we win La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Champions League,” Mbappe ended his response, dismissing the records and aiming for a treble in his first season at Real Madrid.
