How Kylian Mbappe’s Scoring Start to the Season Compares to Cristiano Ronaldo

Kylian Mbappé has been crucial to Real Madrid’s winning start to the 2025–26 season.

Kylian Mbappé has been in excellent goalscoring form this season. / Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images

Kylian Mbappé has been regularly compared to Real Madrid behemoths of yesteryear since his move the Santiago Bernabéu in 2024.

The Frenchman’s record-breaking debut season with Los Blancos was a shining light amid a gloomy campaign, and Mbappé has been every bit as prolific in the opening weeks of the current season.

The 26-year-old has provided decisive strikes at the beginning of the Xabi Alonso era, guiding his new head coach to a winning start in the dugout.

Mbappé continues to draw comparisons with Madrid’s greats, namely five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. But how does his early season form compare to the Portuguese icon?

FREE NEWSLETTER. US Newsletter. Sign Up to Get Informed With SI FC (US Only). dark

---

How Kylian Mbappé’s Early Season Form Compares to Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo made a lightning fast start with Real Madrid. / Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Mbappé has been on a one-man mission in the opening weeks of the 2025–26 campaign. He’s bagged a mightily impressive nine goals in his first seven fixtures with Madrid, not even factoring in the two strikes he managed with France during the September international break.

Mbappé, who scored 44 goals last season including the FIFA Club World Cup, produced his third Madrid brace of the term on Tuesday evening away at Levante, meaning Mallorca are the only opponents who have successfully shut him out to date.

The striker’s nine-goal tally after seven matches marks a significant improvement from five goals after the same number of games last season, and also matches Ronaldo’s best-ever early season total.

Ronaldo never surpassed Mbappé’s tally during his first seven matches of a season at Madrid, although he also scored nine in seven on two separate occasions. He was just shy of double-digits in his debut term with Los Blancos in 2009–10 and several seasons later in 2013–14.

Ronaldo twice scored eight times in his opening seven Madrid outings, too, achieving the feat in 2014–15 and 2015–16, while he only once managed fewer than four in the timeframe while representing Madrid—he produced just one goal in the first seven games of the 2010–11 term.

Mbappé has some way to go to match Ronaldo’s best ever goalscoring season with Los Blancos, which came in 2014–15 when he produced an astonishing 61 efforts and 21 assists in just 54 matches across all competitions.

The early signs are positive for Mbappé, however, who will be keen to topple more records with Madrid this season and capture his first trophy for Los Blancos.

Player	Season	Real Madrid Goals After Seven Matches
Kylian Mbappé	2025–26	9
Cristiano Ronaldo	2013–14	9
Cristiano Ronaldo	2009–10	9
Cristiano Ronaldo	2015–16	8
Cristiano Ronaldo	2014–15	8
Kylian Mbappé	2024–25	5
Cristiano Ronaldo	2017–18	5
Cristiano Ronaldo	2012–13	5
Cristiano Ronaldo	2011–12	5
Cristiano Ronaldo	2016–17	4
Cristiano Ronaldo	2010–11	1

---

READ THE LATEST REAL MADRID NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE

feed