In front of a packed Santiago Bernabeu, Kylian Mbappe was unveiled as the newest ‘Galactico’ at Real Madrid and wasted no time in imitating his idol who sat in the same place 15 years earlier. The Frenchman’s presentation brought back many memories of Cristiano Ronaldo’s in 2009 when the Portuguese star made a world record transfer to Los Blancos at the time.
In both instances, Florentino Perez had masterminded the signings of arguably the best players on the planet, set to take the club into yet another era of dominance. Although Ronaldo’s chapter has long been written, and Mbappe’s is yet to begin, we can compare how the two matched up to one another by delving into some of the key statistics from their final seasons at Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively.
Cristiano Ronaldo (08/09) vs Kylian Mbappe (23/24) | ||
|---|---|---|
Statistic | Ronaldo 08/09 | Mbappe 23/24 |
Games | 53 | 48 |
Goals | 26 | 44 |
Assists | 12 | 10 |
Trophies | 3 | 3 |
Individual Awards | 3 | 2 |
Goals
Mbappe sits far ahead of Ronaldo
The majority of these statistics are neck and neck, but when it comes to how many goals were scored, there is one clear winner. Mbappe led the line of PSG, and the results prove it, as the 25-year-old finished with 44 goals in all competitions. Critics will say that the World Cup winner plays in a far inferior league, but regardless, such a gap is a credit to his lethal nature in front of goal, something Ronaldo had perhaps not fully discovered at the same stage of his career.
By CR7’s standards, the 26-goal season seems like a low total. After all, he did go on to become the greatest goalscorer in football history. It was a drop-off from the season before too, when he had bagged 42 and guided the Red Devils to their first Champions League title in almost a decade.
Assists
Ronaldo pips his admirer
Despite being seen as a goal machine and perhaps at times a selfish player, it is the Portugal veteran who tops the assists chart out of the pair. Back in his first stint for United, the future poacher was an electric winger. Although he managed to get himself into positions to find the back of the net himself, playing out wide meant he could find teammates like Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov more frequently.
With Lionel Messi out of the picture, Mbappe assumed the role of lead man in Paris. Perhaps because of that, the French superstar thought less of providing for his teammates than in previous years. In the season that Messi joined PSG, Mbappe managed to grab 26 assists in all competitions. Fast-forward two years, the forward finished with 10 assists, two shy of his hero’s 12 in 2009.
Trophies
The duo finished tied for trophies won
Silverware has never been anything that either Ronaldo or Mbappe have lacked in their careers. And before joining Real Madrid, they were playing for the two biggest clubs of their respective nations at the time. As such, domestic honours came easily for the duo.
Before making his £80m move, Portugal’s greatest-ever export managed to get his hands on the Premier League title for the third consecutive season, the League Cup and also the FIFA Club World Cup following the Red Devils Champions League victory over Chelsea in 2008. Likewise, Mbappe secured Ligue 1 glory for the third straight year. He also added the Coupe de France and French Super Cup to his trophy cabinet, leaving both players tied on three.
Individual Awards
A Ballon d’Or tips the scales in Ronaldo’s favour
Although football is a team sport, these two stars are heavily motivated by being the very best. Whether it be in their teams, their country or even in the world. So, individual awards are always going to follow them.
Ahead of his dream transfer, Mbappe scooped up two awards for himself, those being the Ligue 1 Player of the Season and the division’s top goalscorer. Those two trophies were more domestic honour than his idol’s. However, Ronaldo’s global success means he takes the cake when it comes to this category.
Thanks in part to his incredible performance in the season prior, Ronaldo walked away with the UEFA Best Player in Europe award, the FIFA Men’s Player of the Year and the first of five Ballon d’Or awards. It was the first golden ball of many for the 39-year-old, who is second only to long-time rival Lionel Messi in Ballon d’Or victories.
There is no doubt that by the time his career is over, Mbappe will have got his hands on this award. The move to the Spanish capital may even help with that. But with this triumph, the odds just swing in Ronaldo’s favour when it comes to who had the better of the other before their life-changing transfers.
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt (Correct as of 19/07/2024)