Mbappe reaches 400 career goals at 26: How many had Ronaldo, Messi scored at his age?

Kylian Mbappe continues his magical season with another dominant performance for France. Following a two-goal outing against Ukraine in the UEFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, the Real Madrid star reached 400 goals in his career. How many had Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi scored by the age of 26?

Mbappe is proving to be the heir to the throne in which Ronaldo and Messi sat for so many years in world soccer. As the French star led his team with two goals—punching The Blues’ ticket to the 2026 World Cup—he made more history of his own.

Since making his professional debut in 2015 with AS Monaco, Mbappe has thrashed records left to right. Now, he reached the incredible milestone of 400 goals by the age of 26, which neither Ronaldo nor Messi had achieved.

How many goals did Ronaldo have by the age of 26?

By the time he blew 26 candles on his birthday cake, Cristiano Ronaldo was already the world’s most expensive transfer in soccer history—when Real Madrid bought him from Manchester United for 94 million euros. However, he hadn’t scored as many goals as Mbappe has. According to Sports Illustrated, Ronaldo had netted 213 goals by the age of 26. Ronaldo did so in 471 games played, averaging 0.45 goals per outing.

Kylian Mbappe of France

As it stands, Ronaldo registers 953 career goals. Based on their averages, Mbappe is well on pace to reach that mark as he has already scored 400 times, and is showing no signs of regression nor letting his foot off the gas pedal.

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How many goals had Messi scored at 26?

Messi, on the other hand, was much closer than Ronaldo from reaching the 400-goal milestone before the age of 26. Still, Mbappe has gotten to that mark faster. By the age of 26, Lionel Messi had amassed 348 goals in 461 appearances, per Sports Illustrated. With his numbers, Messi averaged 0.75 goals per game.

After looking at the numbers behind Mbappe’s achievement—and how it stacks up against the two greatest players of this generation—one thing becomes clear: soccer fans around the globe are witnessing history unfold before their very eyes, and Mbappe is well in contention to chase down the best of all time. However, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and how his game will age remains to be seen.