France star Kylian Mbappe is well on his way to becoming football's biggest superstar.
At the age of just 23, he's already become one of the game's best players, if not the best player on the planet right now. He's pretty much already received the torch from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have dominated the top of the game for well over a decade.
Yet even a global icon like Mbappe draws his inspiration from somewhere, and in his childhood years the PSG speedster was looking up to other players while developing his skills in the Monaco academy.
His favorite player growing up was Cristiano Ronaldo, and that admiration remains today — even as Mbappe looks to pass the Portuguese icon as the biggest football star on the planet.
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Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo
There are a number of instances where Mbappe, or those close to him, have revealed that he is a massive Ronaldo fan, even going so far as to call the Portuguese his "idol".
Mbappe was an admitted Real Madrid supporter when he was younger, and Ronaldo's time with the Spanish giants from 2009 to 2018 coincides perfectly with Mbappe's formative years.
"He is a Real Madrid fan and his idol is Cristiano Ronaldo," Mbappe's father, Wilfried, told France Football back in 2016. "He used to spend hours watching videos [of Ronaldo] on the internet."
That sentiment has re-appeared over the years. Mbappe has also stated his first idol was Zinedine Zidane, and pointed to a high admiration for his current PSG teammate Neymar, but the conversation always keeps coming back to Ronaldo.
A Twitter post from Mbappe back in 2020 held the text "Idol" and a crown emoji, featuring a pair of photos from a France vs Portugal match where the two are smiling and conversing on the pitch.
Idol 👑🐐... @Cristiano pic.twitter.com/uZGEXnhuUB
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) October 11, 2020
When asked that same year what the best goal he had ever seen was during an interview with BeIN Sports, Mbappe responded with Cristiano Ronaldo's bicycle kick against Juventus in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League.
Just days after Portugal were knocked out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the hands of Cinderella story Morocco, Ronaldo posted on Instagram a lengthy statement thanking Portugal fans for their support in Qatar. The post didn't state or suggest that Ronaldo would retire from international play, but it certainly had the sound of someone saying goodbye. Mbappe commented on the post with a number of emojis, including the goat emoji which is often used as a reference to the term "Greatest of All Time," or "GOAT" for short.
Kylian Mbappe and Ronaldo 'Siuuu' goal celebration
Mbappe's father may have said it out loud, but there is other evidence that a young Mbappe idolized Ronaldo.
While playing for the French Under-19 side back in 2016, Mbappe scored against Portugal in the Under-19 European Championships semifinals. And how did he celebrate? With Ronaldo's patented 'Siuuu' leap. You can watch that goal and celebration on YouTube here.
He's also been seen emulating many of the signature moves that Ronaldo possesses, from stepovers to Rabonas, and backheels to goal celebrations. While those are relatively common skills at the top professional level of the game, especially with the sample size of matches the two compete in, they do bear a striking similarity at times.
Mbappe vs Ronaldo stats
While one superstar is at the tail end of a legendary career, the other seems to be just getting started.
At 37 years old, Cristiano Ronaldo has logged 196 international caps and 118 international goals — both records on the men's side. Over the course of his club career, CR7 has amassed an astonishing 701 goals in 949 appearances.
Mbappe is well on his way towards recording similarly incredible numbers. At just 23 years old, Mbappe already has more than 60 international caps for France and more than 30 goals, and has already won a World Cup.
At club level with Monaco and PSG, Mbappe has 222 goals in 302 appearances, chipping in 111 assists as well.
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Mbappe vs Ronaldo head-to-head record
Fascinatingly, Mbappe and Ronaldo have never met at the club level. Mbappe has played against all three clubs Ronaldo has featured for (Real Madrid, Juventus, Man United) at various points in the UEFA Champions League, but all at the wrong time to match up against his idol.
They have, however, met on the international stage. Their first meeting came in a UEFA Nations League match in 2020, a game which finished 0-0. It was the aftermath of that match that saw Mbappe's "Idol" tweet.
The two countries met again just a month later in the reverse fixture of their Nations League group, but Mbappe missed that match due to a thigh injury. The two would link up again, however, as Portugal and France met in Euro 2020, a tournament that was held a year later than originally scheduled due to COVID-19.
They once again finished level, as Ronaldo scored a pair of penalties to secure a 2-2 draw. Mbappe assisted Karim Benzema's goal just before halftime, which tied the score at 1-1.
Kylian Mbappe vs Cristiano Ronaldo all-time meetings
| Date | Competition | Match Result |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 11, 2020 | UEFA Nations League | France 0-0 Portugal |
| Jun. 23, 2021 | Euro 2020 | Portugal 2-2 France |
