Kylian Mbappé Narrowly Misses Monumental Cristiano Ronaldo Record
Mbappé added to his 2025 Real Madrid tally by finding the net twice on Wednesday, bringing his season total to 58 goals and placing him just one behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s club-record calendar-year mark.
The French forward struck twice in Real Madrid’s 3–2 Copa del Rey Round of 32 win over lower-league Talavera. He converted an early penalty to open the scoring and later sealed the victory with a long-range shot that the goalkeeper mishandled in the 88th minute.
Real Madrid advanced to the next round, but the bigger storyline is Mbappé’s looming duel with Sevilla on Saturday, a match that could determine whether he surpasses Ronaldo’s 59 goals set in 2013 for the same club.
Will Mbappé break Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid single-year goals record?
Mbappé’s two goals equal Ronaldo’s second-best calendar-year haul in Real Madrid history, leaving him just one strike shy of Ronaldo’s 2013 total. In his first full season with Real Madrid, Mbappé is tantalizingly close to eclipsing one of the most celebrated marks in club history.
All he needs is a brace against Sevilla—a feat he’s already achieved eight times for Los Blancos this campaign.
Fans and pundits will pack the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday to witness what could become a landmark day for Mbappé and Real Madrid.
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Notes from the sideline: Many expected Mbappé to be rested for the Talavera match, but he started and played the full 90 minutes. After the game, Xabi Alonso explained his decision to keep Mbappé on the field.
“Mbappé has shown he can decide games,” Alonso said via MARCA. “He always has that goal-scoring ability. The third goal was crucial, and that’s why he stayed on and started.”
Alonso acknowledged Los Blancos made things harder than necessary against Talavera, but he framed such occurrences as part of Copa del Rey reality. He added that he’s happy with reaching the Round of 16 and is now focused on Saturday’s clash with Sevilla, where Mbappé remains the key figure in Real Madrid’s bid to finish 2025 on a high note.
Stay tuned for more Real Madrid updates, transfer news, and insights on the season’s major moments.
