Kylian Mbappé (27, Real Madrid) expressed his joy after matching the record of his idol Cristiano Ronaldo (40, Al Nassr).

On the 30th (Korean time), Mbappé started in the home match against Leganés in the 29th round of the 2024-2025 Spanish La Liga at Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, Spain, leading to a 3-2 comeback victory.

Mbappé scored the opening goal with a penalty kick in the 32nd minute of the first half, and after matching the score at 2-2, he succeeded in a long-range shot from a free kick opportunity in the 31st minute of the second half, creating the winning goal.

With Mbappé's performance, Real Madrid, riding a three-game winning streak, maintained a 3-point gap behind the league-leading Barcelona (63 points) and was 6 points ahead of 3rd place Atlético Madrid (57 points), which drew with Espanyol.

Mbappé added multiple goals on the day, bringing his total to 33 goals (4 assists) in official competitions this season. He is now just 4 goals shy of the record held by Iván Zamorano (Chile) for most goals in a debut season with Real. Zamorano scored 47 goals (1 assist) in 45 games during the 1992-1993 season.

Instead, Mbappé matched his idol Ronaldo, who scored 450 goals (131 assists) in 438 games for Real Madrid alone. Ronaldo recorded 33 goals in 35 games during his first season with Real in 2009-2010.

After the match, Mbappé stated in an interview with 'Real Madrid TV,' "This is truly a special moment," adding, "The most important thing is what we accomplish as a team, but it’s always a good thing to match the number of goals as Ronaldo. We all know what Ronaldo means to Real and to me."

He continued, "We always talk, and Ronaldo gives me advice," and added, "Scoring goals is important, but as I’ve always said, we should aim for trophies here."

Real is still aiming for three tournaments: La Liga, Copa del Rey, and UEFA Champions League. Mbappé has scored 22 goals in the league. Ronaldo scored 26 goals in La Liga in his debut season during 29 matches.

Mbappé emphasized regarding the possibility of trophies this season, "We have prepared all season for this moment," stating, "We will give everything to win every match and obtain as many trophies as possible."

He expressed determination, saying, "It’s always difficult after the national team break because the rhythm of club matches is different from that of the national team," but added, "What we must do remains the same. It’s simply to win."

[OSEN]