Vedat Muriqi closes on Mbappé as Mallorca’s record La Liga scorer | OneFootball

Vedat Muriqi, 31, has surged into the Pichichi race, his goals for struggling Mallorca putting him within sight of Kylian Mbappé. According to L'Équipe, the Kosovo forward's rise is a deserved reward after a rugged journey.

A 12 April brace in a 3-0 win over Rayo Vallecano made him Mallorca's record La Liga scorer on 55, surpassing Samuel Eto'o. The former Mallorca star sent warm congratulations in a club video.

Still scoring most weekends for a side in 15th, he is the only player keeping pace with the Real Madrid forward. After 31 rounds Mbappé has 23 and Muriqi 21. Excluding penalties, he would lead, and he has delivered 54% of Mallorca's goals and 10 points.

Former Kosovo assistant Sébastien Bichard describes him as an old-fashioned centre-forward, awkward to face and unafraid of the fight. He highlights Muriqi's physical presence, smart movement and ruthless finishing, seeing a striker equipped to score in any league.

Known as the Pirate, Muriqi admitted the acclaim moved him, reflecting that 15 years into his career he once would have taken such praise for a joke.

His route ran through Albania, then Türkiye with Giresunspor, Rizespor and Fenerbahçe, before a setback at Lazio. In La Liga he has flourished at Mallorca, mirroring the late-career surge of Ante Budimir, 34, at Osasuna.

At home he is a national icon, Kosovo's record scorer with 68 caps and 32 goals, part of a pioneering generation alongside Amir Rrahmani, Milot Rashica and Edon Zhegrova. A 1-0 play-off defeat to Türkiye on 31 March left him in tears, and keeping Mallorca up while pipping Mbappé to Pichichi could help lift him.

Source: L'Équipe