On December 20, Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappé celebrated his 27th birthday. For him, this day was not only a birthday but also a key statistical milestone—his goal tally in the 2025 calendar year had officially overtaken Erling Haaland’s. Real Madrid’s choice between the two has ultimately proven to be a successful bet.
As both Real Madrid and manager Xabi Alonso chase records, Mbappé is fully capable of becoming the biggest protagonist of all records if he so desires. This is especially true on his 27th birthday, with Christmas just around the corner.
The superstar has set himself the goal of at least matching the 59-goal calendar-year record for Real Madrid set by his “childhood idol and now friend” Cristiano Ronaldo. To this end, he has shown unprecedented perseverance. Perhaps it was a bit excessive, but the result was ultimately positive. He finally replicated the feat of the “No.7”, even if it was from the penalty spot. The 2-0 scoreline was enough to help Real Madrid hold off Sevilla’s challenge, allowing everyone to enjoy a happy Christmas.
Mbappé has been breaking records in a relentless manner throughout 2025, which is the best news for Real Madrid. More importantly, it begs the question of what it would mean if this trend continues into 2026. So far this season, he has scored 29 goals in 24 games, with a staggering average of 1.2 goals per game. In the league alone, he has already netted 18 times. Barring an epic goal drought, the La Liga Golden Boot is almost certainly his—he has a seven-goal lead over Ferran Torres. In the Champions League, he also holds a three-goal advantage over Haaland, the Norwegian striker who is his most important benchmark.
This precisely proves that Real Madrid made the right call when they had to choose between the French superstar and the Norwegian marksman back in 2022. The club opted to wait for Mbappé, and the results are now crystal clear. Not only has Mbappé scored seven more goals than Haaland in this calendar year, but he also boasts a higher efficiency rate: his goals-per-game average stands at 1.13, compared to Haaland’s 1.07. It is worth noting that Haaland still has one game left to play this year, meaning he still has a chance to narrow the gap with the Real Madrid striker.
Vinícius Falls into the Shadows
Mbappé can wrap the record-matching achievement up like a gift and place it under the Christmas tree, and Alonso can enjoy his marzipan in peace. But there is a fly in the Christmas punch—Vinícius. Ever since the match against Manchester City, the Brazilian player has been under scrutiny at the Bernabéu, and the image of him laughing heartily after Talavera’s second goal added fuel to the fire. The atmosphere did not ease during the game against Sevilla: he was booed when his name was announced over the stadium loudspeaker before kick-off, booed throughout the match, and booed again when he was substituted in the 77th minute… ultimately sparking a controversy on social media.
The most complicated part for Vinícius is that he originally had a chance to win back some applause and achieve a degree of reconciliation. But Mbappé did not “oblige” him—midway through the first half, Mbappé chose not to pass up an almost certain goal opportunity, instead continuing to chase his record. This was evident: the Frenchman took 9 shots in the entire game, with 4 on target and one hitting the crossbar.
Ambition Is the Fuel
For Mbappé, this is not an insignificant record. He has already made it clear that he is chasing Ronaldo’s seemingly unattainable tally of 450 goals for Real Madrid. As early as October, in an interview with Camel Live, he admitted that his mission is “to make people dream because of me, just like they did with Ronaldo back in the day”. That is why he insisted on playing the full 90 minutes in that illogical game against Talavera—his brace in that match paved the way for him to need just one more goal against Sevilla.
It was this kind of ambition that drove Ronaldo forward, and it still plays a role to this day. And for Mbappé, it is also not a bad source of fuel.
