Kylian Mbappe is on course to have the best season of his career so far.
Mbappe only finished seventh in the 2025 Ballon d’Or vote — narrowly ahead of England stars Cole Palmer and Harry Kane — but 2026 could well be the year he gets his hands on football’s biggest individual award.
The 26-year-old has fired 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 are said to have a 12.5% probability of lifting the trophy.
Kylian Mbappe reaches 400 senior goals
Mbappe’s strike in Thursday’s 2-0 victory 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 France captain is scoring at a rate of more than one goal per game this season. While Harry Kane and Erling Haaland are also averaging in excess of one goal per match this season, this type of record was reserved exclusively for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo until very recently.
Ronaldo — despite receiving the 13th red card of his career this week — is well clear in his status as world football’s most prolific scorer of all time with 953 goals, while Messi is second on 894.
Kylian Mbappe is younger than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were when they got to 400 goals
But remarkably, Mbappe has reached the 400-goal mark at a younger age than both of those football icons.
Mbappe scored goal No 400 at the age of 26 years and 328 days. Messi reached that landmark 95 days after turning 27, although he got there in fewer games than Mbappe (525 vs 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 by the time they got there.
At what age world stars reached 400 senior goals
- Kylian Mbappe — 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 Mbappe is in the form of his life
Mbappe has enjoyed spectacular scoring streaks before, but his current run of goals for club and country feels different. He has 18 in 16 games for Real Madrid this season and seven in eight for France in 2025, putting him above a goal a game across all competitions.
One key change at club level has been where he is doing his work. Under Xabi Alonso he tends to drift less towards the touchline and far more into central areas, finishing like a classic No 9 while still popping up between the lines to combine.
A greater share of his shots now comes from inside the box. His goal for France against Ukraine came from all of three yards.
But tactics alone cannot explain Mbappe’s recent hot streak. He also seems physically and mentally sharper. He looks lighter and, above all, relaxed.
Kylian Mbappe’s club record by season
| Season | Club(s) | Games | Goals | Goals per game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015/16 | Monaco | 14 | 1 | 0.07 |
| 2016/17 | Monaco | 44 | 26 | 0.59 |
| 2017/18 | Monaco & 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 Mbappe’s international record by year
| Year | Games | Goals | Goals per game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Mbappe on course to smash 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 came at a rate of one every 2.4 appearances. In contrast, Mbappe has netted once every 1.7 games on average over the course of his international career to date, and that rate appears to be improving.
There is another French scoring record that Mbappe is well on course to smash. 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 on 411 goals in 2012.
If Mbappe continues scoring at his current career strike rate then he would need roughly 140 more matches to beat Benzema’s record. That would put him on course to break it midway through the 2027/28 season, although he could get there even earlier if his current form continues.
Has Kylian Mbappe peaked or is there much more to come?
Comparing anyone to Messi and Ronaldo is always risky. They are outliers in almost every sense – in terms of talent, impact and, above all, longevity. Using their numbers as a yardstick for Mbappe therefore sets an almost impossibly high bar.
However, if you do use their records as a guide, it suggests that there is so much more to come from Mbappe. Neither Messi nor Ronaldo had reached 400 goals at his age. Since then, they have each more than doubled their goal tallies, adding hundreds more strikes deep into their late 20s and 30s. Ronaldo alone has scored close to 500 goals beyond the age of 30.
Mbappe looks physically sharper than ever. Barring injury, he could have another decade at the top level, although he will likely need to develop his game further still as his pace naturally slows down.
The chances of him hunting down Ronaldo’s record seem pretty slim. After all, very few elite players continue into their forties.
But Mbappe is nowhere near finished. Indeed, he may only be getting started.
