Kylian Mbappe sets Real Madrid goal target as Cristiano Ronaldo challenge laid down
- Mbappe joined Real Madrid on free transfer from PSG this summer
- Frenchman scored on debut in Super Cup win over Atalanta
- Ronaldo the last Madrid player to score 50 goals in a single season
By Tom Gott
Kylian Mbappe has insisted there is "no limit" to the number of goals he could score this season as he seeks to become the first Real Madrid player to net 50 times in a single campaign since Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo bagged 50 in six consecutive seasons between 2010 and 2016, even breaking the 60-goal barrier in 2014/15, and is the last Madrid player to reach half a century in one season across all competitions.
Madrid fans hope that Mbappe, who scored his first goal for the club on his debut in the Super Cup win over Atalanta, can fill the superstar void left behind by Ronaldo, and the 25-year-old has insisted he could reach those heights with the help of his teammates.
"We are at Real Madrid, we have no limit," he told Movistar. "If I can score 50, then 50, but the most important thing is winning and improving as a team, because we will win as a team."
Mbappe described his goalscoring debut as a "dream" and was keen to share the praise for the Super Cup win with teammates Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham.
Ronaldo's first season with Madrid, the 2009/10 campaign, yielded 33 goals across a year which, for him, lasted just 35 games as injury and poor team performance in the Copa del Rey and Champions League shortened their season.
Ahead of the Super Cup, manager Carlo Ancelotti hailed his squad's response to adding Mbappe to the dressing room.
"There are no princes or kings," he said. "They have been able to combine this quality in the service of the team and that is what we want to achieve this season.
"Madrid has to win every game. There are many people who think we are the best and it is possible. We have to build the best team and that means working with all the players possible."