Mbappé Closes In on Cristiano's Historic Record with Latest Milestone

Kylian Mbappé has established himself as the second-fastest player in La Liga history to net 40 goals following his recent strike against Villarreal, trailing only the iconic Cristiano Ronaldo who accomplished this milestone in fewer appearances.

Mbappé shattered numerous records throughout his inaugural season at Real Madrid despite an underwhelming campaign for the 15-time European champions, including surpassing all previous players in club history for goals scored during a debut season.

The French forward has maintained his lethal form into the 2025–26 campaign as Madrid undergoes transformation under Xabi Alonso's guidance, accumulating 14 goals across just ten outings in all competitions.

Nine of these strikes have occurred in La Liga, bringing his total count to 40 in the Spanish top flight. He reached this figure in merely 42 fixtures, with only Ronaldo achieving the benchmark in fewer games. The Portuguese superstar accomplished this in 41 matches.

Fastest to Reach 40 La Liga Goals

Next Target for Mbappe: Claiming His First Ballon d'Or

While unable to surpass Ronaldo's record, Mbappé has outpaced distinguished names like Ronaldo Nazário, Radamel Falcao, Luis Suárez and Ruud van Nistelrooy in reaching 40 La Liga goals—prestigious company indeed.

The reality that Mbappé follows a similar path to Ronaldo at the Santiago Bernabéu bodes well for both the institution and the 26-year-old—though trophies, both team and personal, will be necessary to rival Ronaldo's remarkable legacy.

Mbappé naturally features among the candidates for the 2026 Ballon d'Or after previously falling short of capturing football's premier individual honor. Currently, it's difficult to envision anyone else as the early frontrunner—his scoring record and the comparative struggles and injury setbacks of main competitors are quite evident.

Ronaldo boasts five Ballon d'Or victories—a tally Mbappé will find extremely challenging to equal given Lamine Yamal's emergence—and ranks second on the all-time winners list behind Lionel Messi (eight).

Mbappé witnessed fellow Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé claim the honor in 2025 for his previous club Paris Saint-Germain, but a successful campaign filled with silverware for Madrid and France will likely maintain his pole position.