Kylian Mbappe ‘in contact’ with Cristiano Ronaldo amid Al Nassr fallout | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappe has revealed that he stays in regular contact with Cristiano Ronaldo after matching the Real Madrid icon’s goal tally from his debut season.

Mbappe bagged his second consecutive La Liga brace in Real Madrid’s narrow 3-2 victory over Leganes on Saturday, taking his total for the season to 33 goals across all competitions. That number puts him on par with Ronaldo’s tally from his first campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2009-10.

Speaking to Real Madrid TV (via Flashscore), Mbappe said: “It’s very special… to have the same number of goals as Cristiano is always good.

“We know what he means for Real Madrid and me, we speak, he gives me a lot of advice, he scored many goals – but we have to win trophies here.”

Ronaldo, who left Madrid for Juventus in 2018, remains one of the club’s greatest-ever players. Mbappe has never hidden his admiration for the Portuguese superstar, idolising him since childhood.

Could Cristiano Ronaldo make the shock return to Real Madrid?

Cristiano Ronaldo has had a spat with the Italian coach at Al Nassr (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)

The news of Mbappe’s conversations with Ronaldo comes amid speculation that the 39-year-old could make a shock return to Real Madrid this summer to feature in the inaugural Club World Cup.

With Al-Nassr failing to qualify for the tournament, Ronaldo has been linked with a move away from the Saudi Pro League, with the latest suggestion being that he has had a spat with head coach Stefano Pioli.

This summer’s transfer window has been brought forward to allow clubs to finalise signings ahead of the Club World Cup. Given that the tournament is only held once every four years, Ronaldo may see this as his last realistic chance to compete in it before retiring.