Mbappé matches Ronaldo’s historic Real Madrid record in tribute | OneFootball

The Frenchman who had raised suspicions about his intentions by mixing with the substitutes against Talavera, finally matched the Portuguese as Real Madrid's top scorer in a calendar year, by scoring in the victory against Sevilla.

Kylian Mbappé finally managed this Saturday in the 2-0 win over Sevilla, Real Madrid's last match of 2025, to equal Cristiano Ronaldo as the top scorer in the club's history in a calendar year, a record the Portuguese held since 2013: now, both lead the table with 59 goals. The Frenchman's obsession with that number had led him to join the substitutes in the Copa del Rey despite being physically unfit, scoring a brace in the 3-2 win over humble Talavera.

Kiki started the match in the eleven although he reached the final stretch of the game with zero on his personal tally, with Los Blancos already ahead on the scoreboard at the Bernabéu thanks to Jude Bellingham. Finally, with five minutes left, he was able to make amends with a penalty and celebrated in true CR7 style, whom he rightly points to as his idol.

Mbappé tried up to seven shots before achieving the long-awaited goal, but apart from a shot that hit the crossbar in the 12th minute of the second half, he couldn't connect accurately with the ball to create real danger. Rodrygo forced a penalty that Mbappé converted to celebrate his 59th goal.

Then, he was close to surpassing the record on three occasions, but a penalty called on Oso for a foul on Bellingham with one minute to go was overturned by the referee after checking the VAR screen. Also, in the 49th minute, VAR checked whether a foul on Rodrygo was inside or outside the box; it was finally ruled outside and Kylian sent the free kick over the bar.

And the last chance came in the final play of the match. With Sevilla fully committed forward, Mbappé found space to go one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but Rodrygo, driving down the left wing, didn't see him and when he reached the edge of the area, he passed the ball back.

Mbappé, who turned 27 this very Saturday, December 20, came close to holding the record alone and since arriving at Real Madrid has tallied 73 goals and 10 assists in 83 matches. What he couldn't do in his battle for 2025 was match Ronaldo's goal average: he achieved it with 16 penalties compared to nine, and in 59 matches compared to 50.

“It's a special day because it's my birthday. I always say it's a dream to play a professional match on my birthday and it's a dream to do it at Real Madrid. It was very important to win the match, to end the year with a positive result and it's incredible to have a first year like this, to equal my idol at Real Madrid is an honor.”, he said.

“I wanted to give him a nod because he has always been very affectionate with me and has given me a lot of advice on how to adapt to Real Madrid. This is for him, for my childhood idol. I have a great relationship with him, he's my friend now and I send him my regards,” he added on Real Madrid TV.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.