Kylian Mbappe Hits New Milestone, Beats Suarez But Falls Short of Ronaldo Record

Real Madrid’s talismanic figure stood up to be counted in a must-win game against Levante.

Kylian Mbappé has been scoring goals for fun since he landed in Spain. | Burak Akbulut/Anadolu/Getty Images

Kylian Mbappé became the second fastest player to reach 50 La Liga goals in the 21st Century on Saturday, beating the mark of former Barcelona striker Luis Suárez but falling short of Cristiano Ronaldo.

A hostile crowd at the Bernabéu greeted Real Madrid’s players with incessant whistles—behavior that can be attributed to the shock midweek Copa del Rey exit to Albacete and recent performances under now departed manager Xabi Alonso—but the 15-time Champions League winners got the job done against Levante after Mbappé opened the scoring from the penalty spot.

Since joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2024, Mbappé has been devastating in front of goal week in and week out. The goal against Levante marked his 50th in 53 La Liga appearances, only boyhood idol and Real Madrid legend Ronaldo reached the milestone faster this century, beating Mbappé by two games.

But the Frenchman overtook some of the most lethal goalscorers La Liga has witnessed, such as Suárez, Radamel Falcao, Robert Lewandowski and Neymar Jr.

Mbappé won the Pichichi Trophy in his first season in Madrid, netting 31 league goals, and is on track to retain his crown after scoring his 19th of 2025–26. The effort puts him five clear of Mallorca’s Vedat Muriqi, eight clear of Barcelona’s Ferran Torres and ten clear of his teammate, Lewandowski.

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Fastest Players to Score 50 La Liga Goals This Century

Player	Games	Team
Cristiano Ronaldo	51	Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappé	53	Real Madrid
Luis Suárez	59	Barcelona
Radamel Falcao	64	Atlético Madrid
Robert Lewandowski	78	Barcelona
Neymar Jr	84	Barcelona
Gareth Bale	87	Real Madrid
Ruud van Nistelrooy	89	Real Madrid
Diego Milito	93	Real Zaragoza
Gonzalo Higuaín	98	Real Madrid

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Arbeloa Praises Mbappe and Reveals Welcome Gift

Kylian Mbappé (right) commanded the first victory of the Álvaro Arbeloa era. | Alberto Gardin/NurPhotoGetty Images

A nagging knee issue has compromised Mbappé over the last month. However, the Frenchman played the entirety of Real Madrid’s La Liga debut under new manager Arbeloa, where he reached the landmark milestone and led the way for Los Blancos to end their negative run.

After the match, Mbappé’s new boss was full of praise for his performance, quality and leadership, and Arbeloa also revealed the welcome gift Mbappé gave him during his first training session under his command.

“I’m thankful,” Arbeloa said. “We know he’s [Mbappé] got that knee issue and that anyone else with that situation would’ve taken a step back. But Kylian has shown me in two days that he’s an authentic leader.

“The first thing he did was to nutmeg me in a rondo to welcome me, which is fine. To be able to manage a player like him, capable of scoring 60 goals a season, to see him play, train, the things he’s able to do with the ball ... it‘s something I’ll take with me for the rest of my life.

“He’s a sensational guy, a natural leader, and let’s hope his knee holds on fine because we’re going to need him. Evidently makes a difference in every game, when he’s on the pitch it makes me happy.”

Real Madrid are back in action on Tuesday in the Champions League, where Mbappé will be eager to continue his goalscoring onslaught against boyhood club AS Monaco.

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