French World Cup–winning superstar Kylian Mbappe has expressed his delight after equalling Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 59 Real Madrid goals in a calendar year.
Mbappe reached the milestone on his 27th birthday, converting an 86th-minute penalty in Real Madrid’s 2–0 La Liga victory over Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu. The strike matched the club record set by Ronaldo in 2013.
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“The record is incredible. It’s my first year doing something like Cristiano, my idol, the best player in the history of Real Madrid and a reference point in world football,” Mbappe told Real Madrid TV.
“It’s an honour for me. I wanted to give him a nod because he’s always been very kind to me and has spoken highly about Madrid and how to adapt here. I’m very happy to be scoring goals for Real Madrid and helping the team win.”
Despite Real Madrid’s struggles this season, Mbappe has been their standout performer, scoring 29 goals in 24 appearances across all competitions.
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The French forward needed just 58 games to reach his 59 goals, a tally that includes 11 braces, four hat-tricks and one four-goal haul.
Thirty of those goals have come in the second half of the 2024/25 season. He currently leads the La Liga scoring charts with 18 goals and tops the Champions League rankings with nine, while his two goals in the Copa del Rey take his total to 29 for the campaign.
Mbappe won the European Golden Shoe and La Liga top scorer award last season and is again leading the Spanish scoring charts in the current campaign.
He has previously revealed that he had posters of Portuguese icon Ronaldo on his bedroom walls as a child and described signing for Real Madrid in the summer of 2024 from Paris Saint-Germain as the fulfilment of a lifelong dream.
Mbappe marked his goal against Sevilla by replicating Ronaldo’s trademark “Siu” celebration.
Ronaldo scored 450 goals in 438 matches for Real Madrid to become the club’s all-time leading scorer, while Mbappe has now netted 73 goals in 83 appearances for Los Blancos.
