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Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has backed Kylian Mbappe to reach new heights and surpass Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's goal tally. This comes after the 24-year-old scored his 300th career goal last weekend.
Mbappe reached the impressive milestone after he bagged a brilliant hat-trick during France's 14-0 win against Gibraltar in their 2024 UEFA Euros qualifier on Saturday, November 18. He also reached the landmark quicker than Ronaldo and Messi, who were 27 and 25 respectively when they netted a total of 300 goals.
The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar has been a consistent force to be reckoned with on the pitch since making his debut for AS Monaco in 2015. Moreover, he has already netted 46 goals for France in just 74 games. He is third on the all-time scorer list behind Thierry Henry (51) and Olivier Giroud (56) despite being only 24.
Henry hailed Mbappe for his goal-scoring feats, tipping the latter to reach 1000 goals, above Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He said (via GOAL):
"What this little one does is not nothing. It’s just incredible […] the problem is when you are so good, people often see when you miss or when you’re not good. We expect a lot of him, but he should just not have been so good! Joking aside, let’s be happy that he is French. How high can he go? 1000. I’m overdoing it, but honestly, it is Kylian that decides."
Cristiano Ronaldo is currently the highest goal-scorer of all time, having netted 865 goals in 1196 appearances across all competitions for club and country. Lionel Messi isn't too far behind with 821 strikes in 1046 appearances in total for club and country.
While Kylian Mbappe is currently on track to surpass both legends, he will need to maintain this consistency for well over a decade in order to enter the GOAT debate.
"But I grew up" - When Kylian Mbappe admitted he changed his stance on the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi GOAT debate
PSG ace Kylian Mbappe went viral on social media back in September after he admitted he now likes Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi equally. This is despite him preferring the former in the GOAT debate growing up.
The GOAT debate between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi has been a hot topic for around 15 years that has yet to reach a true conclusion. The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner is expected to carry the mantle in the future.
Mbappe reportedly grew up idolizing Cristiano Ronaldo and had posters of him all around his room. While the Portugal icon was undoubtedly his favorite, his opinion quickly changed after getting the chance to play alongside Messi at PSG.
He said (via SPORTbible):
"I love Cristiano and I was a big fan of him when I was young but I start to learn Messi too because when you are a big fan of Cristiano when you are young, you can't see how Messi is good because you love Cristiano. But I grew up and I like both now."
Lionel Messi joined PSG in the summer of 2021 after a controversial exit from Barcelona. The 36-year-old found moderate success alongside Kylian Mbappe over the following two seasons, winning three trophies, including two Ligue 1 titles.
