Comparing Kylian Mbappe’s insane international record with Messi & Ronaldo at the same age

Ben Stewart • 22 Mar 2024

Kylian Mbappe boasts an unbelievable international record for France, but how does it stack up against Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at the same age?

Considering he’s only 25, Mbappe has already achieved a hell of a lot on the international stage. The Frenchman has already got his hands on the World Cup and he came agonisingly close to winning it again in 2022.

The list of individual achievements that he’s collected while playing for France is scary. From Golden Boots and other individual awards to scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final, few players can hold a candle to Mbappe’s international career.

According to France manager Didier Deschamps, the PSG forward always has his eye on the next record.

“It’s Kylian, he’s full of ambitions. When he reaches one, he has another to reach,” Deschamps said at a press conference.

“He reached and exceeded quite a few very early on. He has that in him. He has a driving role compared to the whole group. He will do everything to get there, he will need the others, but it’s Kylian.”

During his international career so far, the Frenchman has scored 46 goals in 75 appearances. To put into context how insane those numbers are, Messi and Ronaldo had only scored a combined 48 international goals by the time they turned 25.

Mbappe has also produced an impressive 30 assists during his international career and is averaging a goal contribution every 74.8 minutes.

The real test for the Frenchman will be whether he can sustain this insane rate throughout his entire career. It’s worth noting that both Messi and Ronaldo became more prolific for their countries after turning 25.

In the case of Ronaldo, he scored 22 goals for Portugal between the ages of 18-25. Then between the ages of 25-38, he scored a whopping 106 goals.

Messi’s international career follows a similar path. The Argentine scored 26 goals between the ages of 18-25 and he’s since scored a further 80 goals for his country.

Ronaldo holds the record for the most international goals of all time with 128. However, if Mbappe continues to score at his current rate, that record could be in jeopardy.

We’ve taken a closer look at the stats and have compared Mbappe’s international record to Messi and Ronaldo when they were both 25 years old.