Mbappe Closing in on Ronaldo, Messi Still Ahead

Staff Report: PNN

As 2025 comes to a close, Kylian Mbappe remains the center of attention in the football world. This year, combining his club Real Madrid and the French national team, Mbappe has scored 60 goals.

For Real Madrid, he has scored 53 goals in 54 matches, including 23 goals this season, accounting for nearly 56% of the club’s total goals. Additionally, he has scored 7 goals for the national team.

With five club matches remaining in December, if Mbappe scores at least 7 goals, he will rank second on the list of highest club goals in a single year in the 21st century, currently held by Cristiano Ronaldo with 59 goals.

However, surpassing Lionel Messi’s 79 goals remains challenging. To overtake Messi, Mbappe would need to score 27 goals in 5 matches, a difficult task. His main competitor for this year is Harry Kane, who has scored 42 goals.

With his current achievement, Mbappe has entered the list as a French player scoring 60 or more goals in a calendar year combining club and national matches. If he scores 15 more goals in the remaining 5 matches, he could match Pele, and scoring 10 goals could place him above Ronaldo and Lewandowski in the rankings.