Mbappe dismisses equaling Ronaldo Nazario and Cristiano Ronaldo says he is not on the pair's level
France captain Kylian Mbappe has reacted to surpassing Ronaldo Nazario as the Real Madrid superstar closes in on a remarkable Cristiano Ronaldo achievement.
Mbappe took his goalscoring tally to 31 across all competitions with a brace in Real's 2-1 win against Villarreal on Saturday.
It was the Frenchman's 19th and 20th strikes in La Liga, an impressive achievement considering he took a few games to settle in Madrid after his summer move.
The worldwide superstar has stolen the headlines following Madrid's important win as they look to defend their La Liga crown, surpassing the legendary Ronaldo Nazario's final total of 30 in the 2002-03 campaign and closing in on Cristiano Ronaldo's 33 in 2009-10.
Despite the achievement, Mbappe was humble enough to admit he is not on the pair's level even if he does end up beating them both.
Speaking to club media after the Villarreal win, he said: "They're legends who have defined an era. It's important, but it's all about numbers. If I score more goals than Ronaldo and Cristiano, it doesn't mean I'm bigger, it just means my first season is going better. The important thing is to help and win titles. Scoring goals is important, but even more so if we win La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey."
After an important win to take Los Blancos top - albeit perhaps temporarily with Barcelona having one game in hand.
Mbappe’s superb form will be decisive in Real Madrid’s battle for trophies this season.
Mbappe will now head away on international duty with France ahead of a crunch run of games until the end of the campaign.
Alongside their battle to retain the Spanish title, Ancelotti’s charges kick off April with a Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Real Sociedad, before facing Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Mbappe is now up to 20 La Liga goals this season with 31 in all competitions as he seeks to back up his pledge to end the campaign strongly.
The former PSG star admitted he was frustrated with his first few months in Madrid, amid some minor injury issues, but he has kicked on since the start of 2025.
His tally of 31 brings him up to No.4 on the list of Real Madrid players with the most goals scored in their debut season, ahead of Brazilian icon Ronaldo Nazario who scored 30 in 2002/03.
Next in Mbappe’s sights are Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy, tied on 33, from 2009/10 and 2006/07 respectively.
The outright first-season leader remains Chile legend Ivan Zambrano, who scored 37 in 1992/93 after joining from Sevilla, and Mbappe will be confident of breaking that 32-year record in 2025.
Despite the goals scored by all of these incredible strikers from Real Madrid’s past in those examples, there was no Champions League title win at the end of the campaign in any of the four years counted.
Only in the examples of Ronaldo Nazario and Van Nistelrooy did Real Madrid go on to win La Liga that year with CR7 and Zamarano’s debut seasons seeing Barcelona crowned as champions of Spain in the final reckoning.
