Kylian Mbappe has now scored 50 international goals for France, but how long did it take him to reach that tally compared to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo? We’ve crunched the numbers.
Both Messi and Ronaldo have set numerous international records over the years and they’re still adding to their tallies today in 2025.
Ronaldo is the top international goalscorer of all time with 137 goals and Messi trails him in second place with 112 goals for Argentina.
However, Mbappe has managed to score 50 international goals in considerably fewer matches than both players.
In the case of Ronaldo, it took him 114 games for Portugal to score 50 goals, with his 50th strike coming against Ghana at the 2014 World Cup.
Funnily enough, he’s actually become more prolific in his later years. It took him 114 games to score his first 50 goals for Portugal, but only another 51 games until he reached 100 goals.
Still going strong today at the age of 40, he still looks like he’s got plenty left in the tank.
Messi, on the other hand, needed 107 games before he reached 50 international goals, beating Ronaldo’s record by seven games.
His 50th strike came back in March 2016 during a World Cup qualifier against Bolivia, where he scored the second goal of the game.
While both Messi and Ronaldo needed more than 100 games to reach 50 international goals, Mbappe has managed to reach that tally in considerably fewer matches.
The Frenchman made his international debut for France in 2017 and he’s been hitting the back of the net on a regular basis since.
Having already won the World Cup and Nations League, he’s managed to get his hands on some international silverware at a considerably younger age than Messi and Ronaldo too.
His best-ever scoring year for France came in 2022 as he scored 12 goals in 13 appearances and carried France to the World Cup final.
Despite his best efforts against Argentina, his hat-trick in the final still wasn’t enough for France as they lost the game on penalties.
What’s also impressive about Mbappe is that he brings much more to the game than just goals. Along with scoring 50, he’s also produced an impressive 36 assists.
In comparison, by the time Messi and Ronaldo had scored 50 international goals, they both had less than 31 assists to their name on the international stage.
Of course, Mbappe scoring 50 goals in less matches than Messi and Ronaldo is no guarantee that he’ll eventually surpass their international records, but it certainly gives him a decent chance.
The 26-year-old still has some of the best years of his career ahead of him yet and he’ll now be focused on reaching 100 goals in record time.
Here’s the full breakdown of how long it took Mbappe to score 50 international goals with both Messi and Ronaldo.
How long it took Mbappe to score 50 international goals:
Games: 90 ⭐
Goals: 50
Assists: 37 ⭐
Goal contributions: 87 ⭐
Penalties: 11 ⭐
Free-kicks: 0
Minutes per goal: 138.8 ⭐
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 178 ⭐
Minutes per goal or assist: 79.8 ⭐
How long it took Messi to score 50 international goals:
Games: 107
Goals: 50
Assists: 30
Goal contributions: 80
Penalties: 11 ⭐
Free-kicks: 3
Minutes per goal: 173.9
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 223.0
Minutes per goal or assist: 108.7
How long it took Ronaldo to score 50 international goals:
Games: 114
Goals: 50
Assists: 22
Goal contributions: 72
Penalties: 3
Free-kicks: 6 ⭐
Minutes per goal: 176.2
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 187.5
Minutes per goal or assist: 122.4
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TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every club Kylian Mbappe has scored against in the Champions League?
