Mbappe Shatters Ronaldo's Legendary Champions League Scoring Milestone
Kylian Mbappé has surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo's milestone for the highest number of goals netted during the group stage/league phase of a single Champions League tournament.
The Real Madrid striker increased his seasonal count to 12 when he rushed to the far post to nod his team into the lead against Benfica on Wednesday, surpassing the previous benchmark of 11 established by Ronaldo in 2015–16.
It should be highlighted, though, that Ronaldo achieved his total in merely six matches, while the revised league structure of the Champions League provided Mbappé with eight fixtures to accumulate his goals.
Mbappé Pursuing Another Cristiano Ronaldo Milestone
Mbappé Pursuing Another Cristiano Ronaldo Milestone
Parallels drawn between Mbappé and Ronaldo have been commonplace since the former's transfer to the Bernabéu in 2024.
Whether Mbappé will surpass Ronaldo as Madrid's greatest goalscorer with 450 goals remains a future consideration, but in the immediate term, the talented Frenchman will now be chasing the milestone for most goals throughout a single Champions League campaign.
Ronaldo presently maintains that achievement, having netted 17 times during the 2013–14 season with Los Blancos.
Highest Goal Tallies in a Single Champions League Campaign
Highest Goal Tallies in a Single Champions League Campaign
Player | Goals | Season |
|---|---|---|
Cristiano Ronaldo | 17 | 2013–14 |
Cristiano Ronaldo | 16 | 2015–16 |
Cristiano Ronaldo | 15 | 2017–18 |
Robert Lewandowski | 15 | 2019–20 |
Karim Benzema | 15 | 2021–22 |
Can Mbappé Surpass Ronaldo's Single-Season Achievement?
Can Mbappé Surpass Ronaldo's Single-Season Achievement?
Many of Ronaldo's scoring achievements have traditionally appeared unattainable, but Mbappé has been striving to maintain the standard.
He matched Ronaldo's achievement for most goals in a calendar year for a Madrid player when he equaled his hero's tally of 59 goals across all competitions in 2025, and Mbappé has been displaying even superior form during the opening half of the current season.
Having already scored 34 times across all competitions before Wednesday's match, Mbappé is evidently performing with tremendous self-assurance and will believe he can surpass Ronaldo's benchmark of 17 Champions League goals if Madrid can advance to the tournament's latter phases.
Álvaro Arbeloa's team has been inconsistent during the initial weeks of the new manager's leadership, but Mbappé continues to find the net regularly.
If the squad can establish their rhythm as time progresses, Mbappé will be optimistic about scoring the additional goals required to claim another record from his hero.