As the ninth professional
©IMAGO
Recently there has been a lot of criticism for Kylian Mbappé (25) from Real Madrid. On Tuesday evening, the superstar still delivered. In the important 3-2 win in the Champions League at Atalanta Bergamo, the Frenchman scored the 1-0 lead and put the Royals on the road to victory. It was Mbappé’s 50th goal in the premier class, which puts him in an elite circle. Three professionals broke this mark faster than him, and one could soon pulverize the record.
It was Mbappé’s 79th appearance in the Champions League and the sixth in the Real Madrid jersey. At the age of 25 years and 356 days, he is the second youngest professional to reach the 50-goal mark. Only Lionel Messi (37) was younger at the time. The Argentine reached the 50-goal mark after 66 games, only Ruud van Nistelrooy (48) was even faster with 62 games. In front of Mbappé, whose working day ended at halftime on Tuesday evening due to muscular problems, is Robert Lewandowski (36), who needed 77 appearances for 50 goals.
Mbappé is the ninth footballer to score 50 goals in the Champions League. After Karim Benzema (36), who broke this mark in his 90th game, and Thierry Henry (47), who was on the pitch 103 times, Real’s number nine is the third Frenchman to achieve this feat. Bayern’s Thomas Müller (35), the most successful German in the premier class with 55 goals, needed 130 appearances.
Champions League record goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo (39), who scored 140 times for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus Turin, required twelve more appearances than Mbappé. The next professionals who could break the 50-goal mark are Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (32) and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (24), who are still four years short of success. Haaland is also likely to pulverize van Nistelrooy’s record, the Norwegian currently has 46 goals in 44 appearances.