Kylian Mbappe bagged himself a hat-trick in the Champions League and became the third quickest to reach 60 goals in Europe's premier competition, which puts him on course to beat Cristiano Ronaldo's incredible record tally. The Real Madrid superstar reached the landmark in just 89 games, courtesy of a treble against Kairat, while it took Ronaldo 98 games to reach the same number. And the France international is the second youngest to hit 60 goals, beaten by a matter of days, by Lionel Messi.
Getty ImagesMbappe stars as Real run riot
Mbappe delivered a scintillating performance in Real’s 5-0 victory over Kairat Almaty, bagging himself a hat-trick, and contributing significantly to a dominant display that saw his team bounce back from the disastrous 5-2 defeat by Atletico Madrid in La Liga last weekend. Mbappe opened the scoring in the 25th minute from the penalty spot after Franco Mastantuono was fouled in the box, and doubled his tally shortly after half-time, latching onto a long ball from Thibaut Courtois before executing a deft chip over the advancing goalkeeper. He sealed his hat-trick in the 73rd minute with a powerful strike from the edge of the box following a skilful run from Rodrygo.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportIs Ronaldo's record under threat?
Mbappe has been breaking records since he burst onto the scene for Monaco in 2015. And he's on course to match or beat Ronaldo in the Champions League scoring tables. But he's got his work cut out. It's important to acknowledge that Ronaldo's dominance in the Champions League spanned an extended period and resulted in an unparalleled overall goal tally and a remarkable seven Champions League top scorer titles. Ronaldo also holds the record for most Champions League final wins with five. To eclipse Ronaldo's total of 140 goals, Mbappe would need to continue playing at a high level in the Champions League for many more years, potentially well into his late 30s, based on current scoring rates.
Fewest appearances to reach 60 Champions League goals:
80: Lionel Messi
85: Robert Lewandowski
89: Kylian Mbappe
98: Cristiano Ronaldo
111: Karim Benzema
115: Raul Gonzalez
Mbappe claims he should score even more
Following his hat-trick against Kairat, Mbappe said: "A player like me, when I have five chances I should score five goals. Today, I scored three, and that's good, but I could have scored more. I'll keep working to be more clinical in front of goal. You should never forget, we can't forget what happened this weekend (the defeat by Atleti), this is another competition, but we have to keep thinking about what happened, and work to be better so as not to experience another night like that."
And Mbappe also singled out goalkeeper Courtois for special praise after his incredible long-range pass set up his second goal. He added: "I don't know if he meant to do it, but it's a great pass. He made 80 per cent of the goal and I made the other 20 per cent."
AFPFlying start to 2025-26 season at Real
Mbappe has enjoyed a prolific start to the 2025-26 season with Real, bagging 13 goals in nine games in domestic and European competition – he’s become the club’s ‘main man’. He has scored in four consecutive La Liga appearances and leads the league's scoring charts. His performances have been instrumental in Real Madrid's early successes in the season, despite that notable 5-2 defeat by cross-city rivals Atletico Madrid.
The next milestone for Mbappe is to reach 70 Champions League goals, and he's got 17 games to match Ronaldo's scoring rate.
Fewest appearances to reach 70 Champions League goals
90: Lionel Messi
93: Robert Lewandowski
106: Cristiano Ronaldo
126: Karim Benzema
139: Raul Gonzalez
