Kylian Mbappé is on course to have the best season of his career to date.
Mbappe finished only seventh in the 2025 Ballon d’Or election – narrowly ahead of England stars Cole Palmer and Harry Kane – but 2026 could be the year he takes home football’s biggest individual prize.
The 26-year-old has lifted Real Madrid into pole position in La Liga, while his seventh international goal of 2025 helped France confirm their qualification for next summer’s World Cup, where they reportedly have a 12.5% chance of lifting the trophy.
Kylian Mbappe reaches 400 senior goals
Mbappe’s goal in Thursday’s 2-0 win over Ukraine was his 400th goal in senior football: 55 for France and 345 at club level for Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
The French captain is scoring more than one goal per match this season. Although Harry Kane and Erling Haaland are also averaging more than one goal per game this season, until recently this type of record was reserved exclusively for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo – despite receiving the 13th red card of his career this week – is clear in his status as the world’s most prolific goalscorer of all time with 953 goals, while Messi is second with 894.
Kylian Mbappé is younger than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo when they reached 400 goals
But remarkably, Mbappe has reached the 400 goal mark at a younger age than either football icon.
Mbappe scored goal No. 400 at the age of 26 years and 328 days. Messi reached that milestone 95 days after turning 27, although he got there in fewer games than Mbappé (525 to 537).
Ronaldo was almost 29 when he reached the 400-goal milestone, while Harry Kane, Karim Benzema and Thierry Henry were all in their 30s when they got there.
At what age did world stars achieve 400 senior goals
- Kylian Mbappé – 26 years and 328 days
- Lionel Messi — 27 years and 95 days
- Cristiano Ronaldo — 28 years and 335 days
- Harry Kane – 30 years and 274 days
- Karim Benzema — 34 years and 4 days
- Thierry Henry – 36 years and 30 days
Kylian Mbappe has scored 400 senior goals at a younger age than Cristiano Ronaldo
Kylian Mbappé is in the form of his life
Mbappe has scored spectacular goals before, but his current run of goals for club and country feels different. He has 18 of 16 appearances for Real Madrid this season and seven of eight for France in 2025, putting him above one goal per game in all competitions.
An important change at club level is where he does his work. Under Xabi Alonso, he tends to drift less to the sidelines and much more to the central areas, where he ends up as a classic number 9, while still popping up between the lines to combine.
A greater proportion of his shots now come from inside the penalty area. His goal for France against Ukraine came from all three yards.
But tactics alone cannot explain Mbappe’s recent run of success. He also seems physically and mentally sharper. He looks lighter and above all relaxed.
Kylian Mbappé’s club record per season
| Season | clubs) | Games | Goals | Goals per match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015/16 | Monaco | 14 | 1 | 0.07 |
| 2016/17 | Monaco | 44 | 26 | 0.59 |
| 2017/18 | Monaco and PSG | 46 | 21 | 0.46 |
| 2018/19 | PSG | 43 | 39 | 0.91 |
| 2019/20 | PSG | 37 | 30 | 0.81 |
| 2020/21 | PSG | 47 | 42 | 0.89 |
| 2021/22 | PSG | 46 | 39 | 0.85 |
| 2022/23 | PSG | 43 | 41 | 0.95 |
| 2023/24 | PSG | 48 | 44 | 0.92 |
| 2024/25 | Real Madrid | 59 | 44 | 0.75 |
| 2025/26 | Real Madrid* | 16 | 18 | 1.13 |
*Data correct until November 23, 2025.
Kylian Mbappé’s international record per year
| Year | Games | Goals | Goals per match |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 10 | 1 | 0.10 |
| 2018 | 18 | 9 | 0.50 |
| 2019 | 6 | 3 | 0.50 |
| 2020 | 5 | 3 | 0.60 |
| 2021 | 14 | 8 | 0.57 |
| 2022 | 13 | 12 | 0.92 |
| 2023 | 9 | 10 | 1.11 |
| 2024 | 11 | 2 | 0.18 |
| 2025** | 8 | 7 | 0.88 |
**Data correct until November 16, 2025.
Kylian Mbappé on course to break French scoring records
Mbappe’s brace against Ukraine took him to 55 goals in 94 appearances for France, just two behind Olivier Giroud’s national team record of 57.
Giroud – who retired from international football last year – won 137 caps for Les Bleus, meaning his 57 goals were one every 2.4 appearances. In contrast, Mbappe has scored an average of once every 1.7 games over the course of his international career so far, and that percentage appears to be improving.
There is another French scoring record that Mbappé is well on his way to breaking. It belongs to Al-Ittihad striker Karim Benzema, who currently has 503 goals for club and country – the most ever scored by a French international past or present. Thierry Henry is the only other Frenchman to reach 400. He retired in 2012 with 411 goals.
If Mbappe continues to score at his current career goals, he will need around 140 more games to beat Benzema’s record. That would put him on course to make the breakthrough midway through the 2027/28 season, although he could get there even sooner if his current form continues.
Has Kylian Mbappé reached his peak or is there more to come?
Comparing someone to Messi and Ronaldo is always risky. They are outliers in almost every way – in terms of talent, impact and, most importantly, longevity. Using their numbers as a benchmark for Mbappé therefore sets the bar almost impossibly high.
However, using their data as a guide suggests there is so much more that could come from Mbappe. Neither Messi nor Ronaldo had scored 400 goals at his age. Since then, they have each more than doubled their goal tally, adding hundreds more goals well into their 20s and 30s. Ronaldo alone has scored almost 500 goals after the age of 30.
Mbappé looks physically sharper than ever. Barring injury, he could play at the top level for another decade, although he will likely need to develop his game further as his pace naturally slows.
The chance that he will chase Ronaldo’s record seems quite small. After all, very few elite players continue to work into their 40s.
But Mbappé is far from done. He may have just begun.
#Kylian #Mbappe #reaches #goals #Messi #Ronaldo