Kylian Mbappé’s historic performance has (a little) gone unnoticed. Or at least was not necessarily greeted as expected. While the Frenchman equaled Cristiano Ronaldo’s number of goals (59) in a calendar year with Real Madrid during his team’s victory against Sevilla (2-0), the Spanish press, normally so quick to get excited, was rather timid.
“The year in which Mbappé equaled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 59 penalty goals was also the year in which Real Madrid caused disenchantment with the Bernabéu with a resounding drop in tension,” regrets El Pais. He celebrated like Cristiano Ronaldo. It was one of the rare moments of joy of this end-of-year night. End of love. »
Same story from the AS newspaper, which makes its front page with the celebration of Kylian Mbappé in a photo and in the caption: “A lot of goals and a lot of whistles”. On its website, the Spanish daily was more than sober about the record of the former PSG striker: “A Real Madrid which is not improving wins against Sevilla thanks to goals from Bellingham and Mbappé, which equals Cristiano Ronaldo’s annual record. Heroic performance from Courtois. Boos for Vinicius. »
“A reference that seemed almost inaccessible”
For its part, Marca also evokes the great performance of the serial scorer with the caption “Mbappé equals Cristiano Ronaldo’s record in a dull triumph”. On its website, the Spanish daily gets a little more excited, indicating that the captain of the Blues “continues to write his own page in the history of Real Madrid. The French striker achieved his goal in the last match of the year and has scored 59 goals in 2025, an extraordinary figure that allows him to equal the record set by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013, reaching a benchmark that seemed almost unattainable. »
The Frenchman, who started the season very well with 29 goals and five assists in 24 games with Real Madrid, will try to win a title at the start of the year in Saudi Arabia during the Spanish Super Cup. The first step on the road to a new record?
