Kylian Mbappé put together a spectacular debut season at Real Madrid that drew comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo’s first campaign in a white shirt.
Back in 2009, Ronaldo made the move from Manchester United to Real Madrid and the rest is history. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner became the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, helped Los Blancos win three consecutive Champions League titles and broke just about every goalscoring record the club had.
Fifteen years later, Mbappé arrived at the Spanish capital eager to follow in the footsteps of his childhood idol. Although there is still a long way to go before the Frenchman achieves the silverware and success Ronaldo did, he already recorded a debut campaign that puts him in the elite company of the Portuguese icon.
Check out how Mbappé’s Real Madrid debut season compares to Ronaldo’s across all competitions.
Mbappe vs. Ronaldo: Overall Debut Season Statistics
Mbappé has the edge over Ronaldo in terms of goalscoring; the Frenchman bagged 43 goals across all competitions in his Real Madrid debut season, 10 more than Ronaldo managed. Mbappé made 21 more appearances, though, giving him plenty of additional opportunities to find the back of the net.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, recorded five more assists than Mbappé. The Portugal captain ended his first season in a white shirt with 43 goal contributions in just 35 appearances. Mbappé might have 48 goal contributions to his name, but he needed 56 appearances to do so.
Both players finished their debut campaigns as leading goalscorers. Mbappé also joined Karim Benzema as the only two players in Real Madrid history to score in six different competitions, a feat Ronaldo never accomplished in his entire career with the club.
Mbappe vs. Ronaldo: La Liga Breakdown
Mbappé delivered 31 goals in La Liga compared to Ronaldo’s 26. It is important to remember, though, that Ronaldo missed close to two months with an ankle injury in his debut season with the Spanish giants.
Still, despite the lengthy spell on the sidelines, the Portuguese forward ended his first La Liga campaign with 35 goal contributions, one more than Mbappé’s 34. Even when Ronaldo was not scoring goals, he was setting up his teammates to find the back of the net.
Mbappé only recorded three assists in 34 La Liga appearances. The Frenchman often had his sights set on goal rather than Vinícius Júnior or Rodrygo on either side of him.
Mbappe vs. Ronaldo: Champions League Breakdown
It is no surprise that Ronaldo, who is the best player in the history of the Champions League, managed a more impressive European campaign in his debut season than Mbappé. Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer scored seven goals in just six Champions League appearances.
Ronaldo would have likely added to his goalscoring total, but Real Madrid were knocked out of the competition in the round of 16 by Lyon. The forward scored the team’s only goal across 180 minutes of soccer against the Ligue 1 side, but it was not enough to advance to the quarterfinals.
Mbappé found the back of the net the same number of times in more than double the appearances. In fact, three of the Frenchman’s seven goals came in the second leg of the Champions League knockout phase playoffs against Manchester City.
The 26-year-old was notably kept off the scoresheet in both the round of 16 against Atlético Madrid and the quarterfinals against Arsenal. The Gunners went on to eliminate Los Blancos 5–1 on aggregate.
Mbappe vs. Ronaldo: Titles, Honors
Ronaldo walked away with zero silverware in his first season at Real Madrid. Not only did the team go trophy-less, but Ronaldo himself did not secure any individual honors for his campaign.
Mbappé, though, lifted the following trophies with Real Madrid:
- UEFA Super Cup
- FIFA Intercontinental Cup
The France international scored in both finals, directly ensuring Real Madrid took home some silverware in an otherwise disappointing season.
Mbappé won the European Golden Boot and the Pichichi Trophy for his 31 league goals as well. The 26-year-old became only the fourth player in club history to win the Pichichi Trophy in his debut season, joining the exclusive company of Alfredo Di Stéfano, Hugo Sánchez and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
He also broke Real Madrid’s debut season goalscoring record, previously held by Iván Zamorano. No player in the history of Real Madrid has scored more goals than Mbappé did (43) in his first season in a white shirt.
Overall, Mbappé’s historic Real Madrid debut campaign has the edge over Ronaldo's first season in a white shirt. The pressure is now on the Frenchman to help the team secure major trophies next season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as How Kylian Mbappe’s Real Madrid Debut Season Compares to Cristiano Ronaldo’s.