 "Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and France's Kylian Mbappe in action during the Euro 2024 quarter-final at the Hamburg Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany. Reuters")
While fans of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continue to spar with one another in the football GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) debate, Ronaldo’s own son isn’t a fan of his father or his arch rival, but of French star forward Kylian Mbappe.
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In an interview with Spanish television channel La Sexta, the Portuguese superstar admitted that Mbappe has surpassed him in his son Mateo’s eyes. “Mateo, he really likes Mbappé. He sometimes tells me: ‘Hey dad, Mbappé is better than you,’ and I reply by saying: ‘No, I am better than him, I have scored more goals.”
While Mbappe had played alongside Messi at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for two seasons following the latter’s high-profile transfer from FC Barcelona, the forward is currently in his first season with Spanish and European champions Real Madrid, the club where ‘CR9’ had spent nine seasons during which he helped Los Blancos win multiple trophies and scored a record 450 goals.
Since joining Madrid on a free transfer from Ligue 1 champions PSG, Mbappe – a Ronaldo fan growing up – has been on a goal-scoring spree and has scored 15 times already in LaLiga – the second-highest so far this season behind Barca’s Robert Lewandowski (17).
Ronaldo, who enjoyed a successful spell with Juventus after his stellar run with Madrid before briefly returning to Manchester United, currently represents Al-Nassr FC in the Saudi Pro League . The 39-year-old, who earns up to €200 million per year from his current deal with Al-Nassr, proved an instant hit in the Gulf kingdom by finishing as the leading goal-scorer (35) in his maiden SPL season.
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Ronaldo is also at the top of the goal-scorers’ list this season with 15 goals, two more than former Madrid teammate Karim Benzema. This includes a goal in Al-Nassr’s 2-1 away victory against Al-Raed.