“Kylian Mbappé can surpass Cristiano Ronaldo in the national team?”

Cristiano Ronaldo, the giant of international football, holds a goal record that seems insurmountable – 143 goals with the Portugal national team. However, a young French prodigy may have what it takes to one day surpass this legendary mark. Kylian Mbappé, who is shining brightly at Real Madrid as a true Galáctico, is on the verge of becoming the all-time leading scorer for the French national team, pursuing one of the greatest achievements of his idol, Ronaldo.

In a recent friendly against Brazil, Mbappé not only shone but also reached his 56th goal for the French national team. This milestone is particularly remarkable for a player who is only 27 years old and still has many years ahead at the top of football. Mbappé’s numbers are indeed impressive, especially when drawn in comparison to Ronaldo at the same stage of his career. The Frenchman has already scored 21 goals more than Ronaldo had after the same number of matches and at a similar age, just nine years after their international debuts. This lead is nothing short of extraordinary.

However, does this mean that Mbappé is really on track to break Ronaldo’s record? Before we entertain this hypothesis, it is crucial to establish some parameters. Ronaldo, even if he decided to hang up his boots today, would leave behind a legacy that is difficult to match. Only two players in the history of international football – Iran’s Ali Daei and Argentina’s Lionel Messi – have managed to surpass the 100-goal barrier, with 108 and 115 goals, respectively. To put Ronaldo’s achievement into perspective, he has more than 50 goals more than any other European player, with Romelu Lukaku and Robert Lewandowski tied at 89 goals.

The Portuguese star is on his way to his sixth World Cup and does not seem to have plans to retire in the near future. However, he has already acknowledged that he is in the final stretch of his career while pursuing his goal of reaching a thousand goals in club and international competitions. “Definitely, yes,” Ronaldo stated regarding the possibility that the 2026 World Cup could be his last major tournament with Portugal. “I will be 41 years old and I think [that] will be the moment in the big competition. To be honest, when I say soon, it’s probably one or two years that I will still be in the game.”

Assuming Ronaldo adds another 10 goals to his total before retiring, his new milestone would be 153 goals. This means that Mbappé would need to score almost 100 more goals than his current 56 to become the all-time top scorer in international football. The magnitude of the task is colossal. With 56 goals in 95 matches for France, Mbappé took nine years to reach this achievement. If he maintains his impressive scoring rate so far, he would need around 172 additional matches, which would see him playing until the age of 43.

However, it is important to note that Mbappé’s goal average can be misleading, as it includes his early years when he was not as prolific. He has surpassed his best records each season at Madrid and has scored in all of his last seven appearances for the national team. To have a real chance of overtaking Ronaldo, Mbappé would need to maintain an average of one goal per game for many years, just as Ronaldo did when he reached the peak of his career in his thirties.

The issue here is longevity. Unless Mbappé starts scoring hat-tricks in every appearance, he will need to be a regular starter well beyond the age of 35. This is a considerable demand. In the final years of Ronaldo’s career, he reinvented himself as a forward who prioritized finishing. However, Mbappé’s physical structure raises questions about his ability to adopt such a different playing style as he ages. Speed and dynamism are central features of his game, but these may diminish over time, as has happened with other players.

If we had to make a prediction, it would be very difficult to believe that Mbappé will break Ronaldo’s record. However, if he can avoid injuries and remain at the top for a long period, as Ronaldo did, then who knows? The history of football may still have surprises in store.

This article first appeared on Apito Final.