France's Kylian Mbappé looks to be treading a familiar path at Real Madrid. The trophies won, the goals scored: it all echoes Cristiano Ronaldo's early days with the Spanish giants.
Real Madrid are gearing up for the 2026-2027 season with lofty ambitions after José Mourinho took over the reins, the Portuguese coach setting his sights on competing hard for every title. Mourinho leans heavily on Mbappé, the most prominent attacking weapon in his line-up.
Goals have flowed since the Frenchman's move to the Bernabeu, yet his first two seasons brought none of the major silverware the club and its fans craved.
Across those two campaigns, Mbappé lifted the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup with Real Madrid. La Liga and the UEFA Champions League eluded him.
Ronaldo's start looked much the same, two seasons without the big prizes before everything changed in his third, according to the Spanish website "Defensa Central".
The parallels only grow when you line up the numbers at the same age. Mbappé has now reached 86 goals in a Real Madrid shirt, the exact tally the Portuguese star had at the start of his third season in the Spanish capital.
Ronaldo finished the 2009-2010 season, his first with Real Madrid, without La Liga or the Champions League. The 2010-2011 campaign, which saw Mourinho take charge, delivered more of the same.
Then came the turn. Mourinho steered Ronaldo to the La Liga crown in 2011-2012, a historic edition known as "the record-breaking league".
Madrid's officials and supporters are hoping for a repeat with Mbappé, praying the French star lands his first major titles in his third season, especially with Mourinho back at the helm.
You can discuss topics and news in greater depth in the "Kooora" forums
Mbappé's numbers place him alongside Ronaldo
Titles are not the only link between the two. The individual numbers match up too, with the French striker producing an exceptional goalscoring return across his first two seasons at the Bernabeu.
Mbappé claimed the "Pichichi" award as La Liga's top scorer in both of his opening seasons with Real Madrid, netting 25 goals in the 2025-2026 edition to become one of the most prolific scorers in the club's history. His total climbed to 86 after two seasons, the same figure Ronaldo hit over roughly the same stretch of his career with Los Merengues.
That symmetry hands Mbappé a huge challenge for the new season. He must turn his personal numbers into collective silverware, something he failed to do across the last two campaigns in the major competitions.
Mourinho trusts Mbappé
Mourinho, for his part, has voiced real confidence in Mbappé's ability, insisting he expects the best version of the forward this season.
The Portuguese coach called Mbappé a player of "exceptional level", stressing that he does not want to dwell on last season but instead looks to what the French star can offer in the phase ahead.
Arriving early for pre-season caught Mourinho's eye. He read it as a positive sign of the player's hunger to prepare and to work under the new coaching staff.
Mbappé begins his third season with Real Madrid under enormous pressure, but impressive goalscoring figures and the trust of his new coach are behind him. The question now is whether he can echo Ronaldo and turn this third season into the start of a new era of success and titles with the Spanish giants.