Kylian Mbappe arrived at Real Madrid as the player tasked with filling the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo when he departed for Juventus. While he remains far from matching Ronaldo’s total legacy, the Frenchman has the opportunity to surpass the Portuguese star’s scoring tally from his first two seasons with Los Blancos.
While Cristiano scored 86 goals in 89 appearances across his first two campaigns at Real Madrid, Mbappe has recorded 85 goals in 101 appearances for the Spanish giants.
The Frenchman still has two matches remaining to equal or overtake the legendary striker’s mark. Although the league title has already been claimed by Barcelona, Real Madrid still face matches against Sevilla and Athletic Club to close out the season.
A tumultuous end to the season for Real Madrid
Real Madrid will finish the season without silverware, marking the second consecutive year the club has failed to win a major trophy. The supporters made their frustration clear by whistling Mbappe when he came on as a substitute in the 2-0 victory against Real Oviedo.
— LAPORTA SIEMPRE TIENE RAZON (@DictadorMbappe7) May 14, 2026
Adding to the tension are dressing room issues. Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni were reportedly involved in a fight during training. Although Valverde later denied being hit by Tchouameni, Real Madrid decided to fine both players €500,000 following the incident.
Mbappe and Arbeloa’s contradictions
Coming off the bench to replace Gonzalo Garcia against Real Oviedo likely did not sit well with Mbappe. The forward told reporters after the match that he is currently the fourth option in attack for the manager, behind Vinicius Jr., Garcia, and Franco Mastantuono, adding that the coach’s decision must be respected.
However, during his press conference, Arbeloa offered a different perspective, indicating that he never told Mbappe he was the team’s fourth-choice forward. “I wish I had four forwards; I don’t know what to tell you because I don’t have four forwards, nor have I ever said such a thing to him. He must have misunderstood; I don’t know what to tell you, but I never told him he is the fourth-choice striker,” Arbeloa stated.
