Historic No. 5? Current No. 1! Mbappe scores 71 goals in 99 Champions League appearances and only wants the title

On September 9 Beijing time, in the first round of the 2026-27 Champions League, Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2-1, with Mbappe scoring the opening goal of the match.

In the 14th minute, Bisseck made a mistake in his own half, Brahim Diaz won the ball and played a through pass, and Mbappe finished with a sliding shot from the ground to score, putting Real Madrid ahead.

Real Madrid eventually beat Inter Milan 2-1 to make a winning start, while Mbappe's Champions League scoring record reached 71 goals in 99 appearances. He surpassed or equaled Real Madrid predecessor Raul (also 71 goals, but in 142 appearances) and moved up to fifth place in the Champions League's all-time scoring rankings.

Interestingly, the four players ahead of Mbappe -- Cristiano Ronaldo (183 appearances, 140 goals), Messi (163 appearances, 129 goals), Lewandowski (144 appearances, 109 goals) and Benzema (152 appearances, 90 goals) -- are all still active, but none of the four are currently playing in the Champions League. Therefore, Mbappe's fifth place among active players is effectively equivalent to first place among active Champions League scorers. However, surpassing the four players ahead of him, even Benzema with 90 goals, appears unlikely within this season.

Mbappe was the Champions League top scorer in the 2023-24 season (jointly with Kane) and the 2025-26 season. If he wins the honor again this season, he will become the third player to achieve this after Cristiano Ronaldo (seven times) and Messi (six times).

As the newly crowned all-time leading World Cup scorer and now also achieving this distinction on the Champions League all-time scoring chart, Mbappe did not mention the statistic after the match. Instead, he expressed his desire to help Real Madrid win the Champions League: “I already talked about the Ballon d'Or yesterday, but the Champions League is more important because I play for my dream club. Winning this competition with Real Madrid is very important to me. I want it more than anything.”