Kylian Mbappe Chasing Cristiano Ronaldo’s Sensational Champions League Record

The France international is currently the top scorer in the 2025–26 Champions League.

Kylian Mbappé has already scored 11 goals in the league phase this season. | Javier Borrego/Europa Press/Getty Images

Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé is just one goal away from breaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most goals in a Champions League group stage/league phase.

Ever since Mbappé made the move to the Spanish capital ahead of the 2024–25 season, he has slowly been etching his name above Ronaldo’s in the history books. The Frenchman scored more goals in his debut season than any other player to ever don the white shirt, and also surpassed his idol by bagging the most goals in a calendar year by a Real Madrid player.

In 2025–26 alone, Mbappé has already found the back of the net 34 times for the Spanish giants, and 11 of those goals have come in the Champions League. Ronaldo is the only other player to ever reach that milestone before the knockout rounds, holding on to his record-11 goals in the group stage for the last decade.

Yet with one final league phase match in the cards for Los Blancos, Mbappé could once again overtake the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to add another history-making moment to his esteemed résumé.

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Comparing Ronaldo’s Champions League Feat to Mbappé’s

Ronaldo’s 2015–16 Group Stage Campaign

Cristiano Ronaldo is considered the best Champions League player of all time. | Angel Martinez/Real Madrid/Getty Images

• Goals: 11
• Matches: Six

Ronaldo set the record for most goals in a Champions League group stage back in 2015–16. The Real Madrid legend scored 11 goals in the club’s six group stage matches.

The feat becomes even more impressive when taking into account that Ronaldo failed to get on the scoresheet in both of Los Blancos’ battles with PSG. So in all actuality, the forward only needed four appearances to find the back of the net 11 times.

Ronaldo kicked off Real Madrid’s 2015–16 Champions League campaign with a hat trick against Shakhtar Donetsk in front of a packed Bernabéu crowd. He then followed it up with a brace in the club’s 2–0 victory over Malmö.

The Spanish giants then faced PSG home and away, and the only goal to come out of those two contests surprisingly came from the left foot of center back Nacho. Ronaldo made up for his silence by scoring two goals away at Shakhtar Donetsk next time out.

To cap off a sensational run, the Portugal captain netted four goals at home against Malmö to make Champions League group stage history. It will come as no surprise that Los Blancos went on to win the competition that season.

Opponent	Goals
Shakhtar Donetsk (H)	Three
Malmö (A)	Two
PSG (A)	Zero
PSG (H)	Zero
Shakhtar Donetsk (H)	Two
Malmö (H)	Four

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Mbappé’s 2025–26 League Phase Campaign

Kylian Mbappé matched Ronaldo’s Champions League record. | Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press/Getty Images

• Goals: 11
• Matches: Six*

Mbappé has so far matched Ronaldo’s goal tally in the same amount of games in the Champions League league phase. The Frenchman scored both of his team’s goals in its 2–1 victory over Marseille, before bagging a hat trick against FC Kairat.

Like Ronaldo, Mbappé was then held quiet in his next two matches. The 27-year-old could not find the back of the net against Juventus or Liverpool.

He more than redeemed himself when he scored four goals against Olympiacos three weeks later. Mbappé would have loved to replicate his form against Manchester City in Real Madrid’s next league phase clash, but the forward did not feature due to a knee injury.

Following the winter break, Mbappé showed no mercy against his former club, tallying a brace in Los Blancos’ 6–1 rout over Monaco. The two goals put the France international alongside Ronaldo in the Champions League history books.

The newly expanded league phase, though, gives Mbappé an extra chance to surpass his childhood hero. Real Madrid are set to face Benfica in their league phase finale on Wednesday night at the Estádio da Luz, and one more goal for the forward is enough to break the record that stood for the last decade.

Opponent	Goals
Marseille (H)	Two
FC Kairat (A)	Three
Juventus (H)	Zero
Liverpool (A)	Zero
Olympiacos (A)	Four
Man City (H)	N/A
Monaco (H)	Two
Benfica (A)	TBD

*Still ongoing

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Could Mbappé Break Ronaldo’s All-Time Champions League Goal Record?

Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for the most goals scored in a single Champions League campaign. | Stuart Franklin/UEFA/Getty Images

Even if Mbappé surpasses Ronaldo’s group stage/league phase feat, he is still chasing after a much bigger record. Ronaldo scored 17 goals in Los Blancos’ run to Champions League glory in 2013–14, the most ever in a single campaign in Europe’s premier club competition.

The new face of Real Madrid is already only six goals away from matching that record, and the knockout stage has not even started. Should Los Blancos make a deep run in the tournament under new boss Álvaro Arbeloa, Mbappé could have a handful of chances to get his tally to 17—and possibly beyond.

After all, if the Spanish giants make it to the semifinals, that’s six more games for Mbappé to terrorize defenses. An appearance in the final would make it seven.

At the rate Mbappé is scoring, it would be foolish to say he has no chance of matching and possibly surpassing Ronaldo’s record. It will all depend, though, on the Frenchman’s ability to stay healthy, and Real Madrid’s performance in the knockout stage.

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