Kylian Mbappé matched Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid all-time record for most goals scored by a player in a single calendar year. Cristiano Ronaldo reached out on Instagram to congratulate the French international, who is just 27 last week.
Prior to Real Madrid’s La Liga match against Sevilla, Mbappé was one goal short of matching the tremendous 59-goal tally by Ronaldo for the club in a calendar year. The winning touch was still on the pitch in the dying moments as Mbappé slotted in the penalty in the 86th minute of the game and Madrid ran out 2-0 winners.
The 26-year-old commemorated the achievement with the signature ‘siu’ celebration of Ronaldo and then dedicated the goal to his childhood hero. Through social media, Mbappé shared this on his page, where he posted pictures of the celebration along with a snap of him, as a youngster, meeting Ronaldo with the words: “Believe in your dreams. Big up Cristiano.” Ronaldo won’t be able to hide the achievement as he made a public acknowledgment by responding with celebratory emojis.
The victory was also a much-needed gesture to the head coach Xabi Alonso, who has been in the focus of speculation after a number of indifferent game results. Mbappé’s spot-kick was his 30th goal since the arrival of Alonso in the summer, an outstanding figure that the player has managed in only 27 appearances.
Alonso, after the game, gave a magnificent tribute to his star player and called the achievement “historic,” as well as emphasizing Mbappé’s incessant drive to affect matches. Going by his existing goal-scoring pace, Mbappé will be able to break all the previous records of his and establish new ones by 2026.
