“Mbappé approaches Ronaldo’s Champions League record after 20 games.”

Kylian Mbappé, the young star of world football, is making waves in Madrid, and comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo continue to arise. Now that the French forward has played 20 matches in the Champions League with Real Madrid, it is time to analyze how his performance compares to that of CR7 after the same number of games. The rivalry between these two football legends promises to be epic.

In his first season in the Spanish capital, Mbappé had a promising performance, scoring seven goals in 14 European matches. However, his record was not perfect; he failed to score or assist any goals from the round of 16 onwards. Real Madrid was eliminated by Arsenal in the quarter-finals, leaving Mbappé without a significant trophy in his debut.

But do not be misled by the lack of trophies from the previous season. The Frenchman seems to have renewed his hunger for goals in the current 2025-26 campaign, where he is shining in the Champions League. Following a spectacular brace against Monaco, Mbappé has already scored 11 goals in just six European matches this season, bringing his total to 20 goals in the Champions League for Real Madrid.

This is where the comparison with Ronaldo becomes even more interesting. While Mbappé surpasses the Portuguese icon in terms of goals, with Ronaldo scoring 14 goals in his first 20 matches for the Madrid team, CR7 holds the advantage in assists. So far, Mbappé has provided only one assist in the competition, while Ronaldo had already notched up six assists at this stage of his career.

If Mbappé maintains this dazzling pace and Real Madrid advances far in the Champions League, he could be on track to break one of Ronaldo’s most coveted records. Since 2014, the Portuguese has held the record for the most goals scored in a single Champions League season, with 17 goals in the 2013-14 campaign. With Mbappé already tallying 11 goals and an impressive average of one goal every 48 minutes, the odds of him making history are quite encouraging. To put it into perspective, Ronaldo had an average of one goal every 58.4 minutes that season.

Mbappé does not hide his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo. “Cristiano has always been a role model for me,” the French forward said in recent statements. “I feel lucky to be able to talk to him; he gives me advice, he has helped me. I think in Madrid he remains number one.”

Attention is now turning to the future, where the rivalry between Mbappé and Ronaldo could define a new era in football. If the Frenchman continues his upward trajectory, he may very well not only equal but surpass the achievements of his idol. What does the future hold for these two legends of the sport?