The race is on: Kylian Mbappé has two chances to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid record

With the season soon heading into a brief break, Kylian Mbappé is closing in on one of the most iconic scoring records in Real Madrid history. The French star sits just three goals away from matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s mark of 59 goals in a single calendar year with the club, a standard Ronaldo set in 2013.

Calendar-year milestones may not come with trophies, but they still carry weight in soccer. Breaks in the schedule invite reflection on league titles, Champions League triumphs, Golden Boots, and the individual records that define an era. They also sharpen the focus for players chasing history before the year closes.

Two chances for Mbappé to match Ronaldo

That is the incentive now driving Mbappé. With 56 goals already in 2025, he has two remaining opportunities to close the gap on Ronaldo, away at Talavera in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday and at home against Sevilla at the Bernabéu on Sunday, with a hat-trick enough to bring him level with his idol.

Mbappé’s current total increased with his latest strike against Alavés at Mendizorroza, leaving Ronaldo’s 2013 benchmark firmly within reach. To maximize his chances, Mbappé would need minutes in the Copa del Rey tie at Talavera. He featured at that stage last season, playing 27 minutes off the bench in the round of 32 against Deportiva Minera.

If that opportunity does not materialize, then everything will rest on the Sevilla match at the Bernabéu. Asking Mbappe for a scoring explosion is hardly unrealistic. In 2025 alone, he has already produced four hat-tricks, against Valladolid, Manchester City, Barcelona and Kairat Almaty, as well as a four-goal performance against Olympiacos. Sevilla have also felt his impact before, conceding goals to him in both meetings last season.

A late surge that changed everything

Matching or surpassing Ronaldo would be a fitting capstone to a remarkable year. Mbappé exploded down the stretch of the last LaLiga season, scoring nine goals in the final five matchdays, including a hat-trick in El Clasico at Montjuic. That run carried him to both the Pichichi trophy and the European Golden Boot at a time when overhauling Robert Lewandowski and Viktor Gyokeres appeared almost impossible.

It would also etch his first full calendar year as a Real Madrid player into the club’s modern history.

Mbappé carrying Madrid’s attack

The second half of 2025 has been just as dominant. Nearly two thirds of Real Madrid’s goals this season have involved Mbappé, either as the scorer or the provider. He has already produced 26 goals and four assists in the team’s 47 goals so far.

At his current pace, Mbappé is projected to finish the season with 66 goals, a total that would also eclipse Ronaldo’s 61-goal campaign from the 2014-15 season.

Club form matched on the international stage

Mbappé’s club numbers are backed by his form with France. He has scored seven goals in his last six appearances for Les Bleus and, in 2025, became the national team’s second all-time leading scorer. His 55 international goals leave him just two shy of Olivier Giroud’s record.

That tally will not change before the year ends, but his account with Real Madrid remains open. With Talavera and Sevilla ahead, the path to history is still there. One hat-trick separates Kylian Mbappé from Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow.

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