Kylian Mbappe is a modern-day football icon, but how does his Champions League knockout record compare to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?
Real Madrid signed Mbappe hoping that the World Cup winner will be able to step into the shoes of his idol Ronaldo and his former France team-mate Karim Benzema by delivering greatness on the season-defining Champions League knockout games.
Mbappe certainly did that in his first two knockout outings for Los Blancos. He scored at The Etihad in the play-off clash with Manchester City and followed that up with a brilliant hat-trick in the return leg at The Bernabeu.
“Everyone knows the admiration I have always had for Cristiano,” Mbappe said of facing Real Madrid’s all-time top goalscorer when France faced off against Portugal at Euro 2024 last summer.
“I had the opportunity to meet and talk with him many times. We are in contact, and he always tries to give me good advice. It’s an honour.
“No matter what happens, he will remain a football legend. But I hope we advance tomorrow. I have never envied anything. I just want to admire Cristiano’s greatness. There will be no one like him. He has left a mark on football history.”
“He has inspired generations, scored countless goals, and won a vast number of titles. I have great respect for him.”
Ronaldo won four of his five Ballon d’Or and Champions Leagues during his incredible nine-year stint at The Bernabeu. That serves as the high benchmark for Florentino Perez’s latest Galactico signing.
While Mbappe has made no secret of his admiration for Ronaldo, he also has great respect for the Portuguese’s old rival. The Frenchman spent two years playing alongside Messi at PSG and they often linked up well over the course of their back-to-back Ligue 1 title victories.
However, the Champions League eluded Messi and Mbappe during their time together as PSG suffered underwhelming early exits from club football’s most prestigious cup competition.
“Messi does everything well. You can learn everything from a guy like that,” Mbappe said of his time together with the Argentinian.
“I used to go up to him and ask him: how do you do this? How do you do that?”
