Kylian Mbappe fails to break Lionel Messi record that’s stood since 2014 but beats Cristiano Ronaldo | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappe recently turned 27 years old and the Real Madrid forward has already broken countless records throughout his career so far.

However, he’s not been able to surpass Lionel Messi when it comes to the number of league goals scored before turning 27.

In the history of Europe’s top five leagues, here are the 10 players with the most league goals before turning 27.

1. Lionel Messi – 243 goals

Messi’s record of 243 league goals before turning 27 has stood firm since 2014.

He’s the highest-scoring player in the history of La Liga with 474 goals, with just over 50% of those goals coming before he turned 27.

Given that Messi isn’t an out-and-out striker like most of the other players on this list, his output is even more impressive. Especially when you consider he’d also produced 94 assists in the league during that period too.

2. Kylian Mbappe – 239 goals

Mbappe was just four goals shy of levelling Messi’s record.

The Frenchman scored the bulk of his league goals in Ligue 1 for PSG and has maintained that same pace with Real Madrid in La Liga.

If he continues to score at his current rate, he’ll be one of the all-time top scorers by the time he retires, without a doubt.

3. Gerd Muller – 204 goals

Before Messi came along, Muller held the record as the player with the most league goals before turning 27.

Indeed, he was the only player in one of Europe’s top five leagues to score more than 200 goals before turning 27 in the 20th Century.

In total, he scored a record 365 goals in the Bundesliga, with 204 of them coming before his 27th birthday.

4. Cristiano Ronaldo – 174 goals

Considering Ronaldo spent his early years playing as a traditional winger in the Premier League, his output becomes even more impressive with that context in mind.

He turned 27 in February 2012, during his third season in Spain with Real Madrid.

Still going strong today at the ripe old age of 40, CR7 truly is one of a kind.

5. Giuseppe Meazza – 172 goals

Meazza celebrated his 27th birthday back in 1937, while he was playing for Inter Milan.

To this day, he’s still the club’s record scorer with 287 goals and he’s the joint-fourth top scorer in the history of Serie A.

The Italian forward was also the first player in Serie A history to reach both 100 and 200 goals, which is quite the accolade.

=6. Raul – 166 goals

Raul made his senior debut for Real Madrid in 1994 and he went on to score 228 league goals in 550 matches for the Spanish giants.

In total, he scored 166 La Liga goals before turning 27, a number which has only been surpassed by Messi in Spain.

=6. Erling Haaland – 166 goals

Given that Haaland is only 25 years old and he’s already scored 166 league goals, he’s guaranteed to move up this list over the coming years.

Only including the league goals that he’s scored in the Bundesliga and Premier League, he’s already scored more league goals than Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero had before they turned 27.

Haaland himself will turn 27 in July 2027, meaning he’s still got another year and half to add to his tally.