Mbappé–Haaland rivalry
The Mbappé–Haaland rivalry refers to a goal-scoring race between French footballer Kylian Mbappé and Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland. The comparison has been propelled by the worldwide media and fans mainly due to their contemporary careers (their age difference is less than two years) and their outstanding scoring records. Since their debutes, Mbappé and Haaland were rewriting the record books right from the off, redefining what it means to be a modern football superstar. Together, they have broken all sorts of scoring records relatively to their age and both are on track to settle many more provided they remain injury-free.
The rivalry has been compared to the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry. Since 2021, pundits began suggesting that the rivalry torch is passing from them to Mbappé and Haaland. Messi's and Ronaldo's departures from the European football in 2023 definitely signalled the end of the era that has shaped world football over nearly two decades. Instead, Mbappé and Haaland became widely viewed as the new heavyweights, storming the major tournaments. They were the most one-vs-one compared players in 2025 widely outcomparing any other pair. Since 2023, many experts stressed that in career scoring Mbappé and Haaland are on pace to outproduce both Ronaldo and Messi. The younger duet scored more than the older one at the same age.
Mbappé was the first player in the 21st century to score 300 career goals before the 25th birthday. His record of 24 years and 333 days holds as of 2025. Shortly Haaland became the second player to do so, conceding Mbappé just one week. In terms of the number of appearances, Haaland outpaced Mbappé, as well as Messi and Ronaldo. He scored 300 in 370 matches, vs 409 of Mbappé, 418 of Messi and 554 of Ronaldo. By the age 26 Mbappé scored 400 career goals to become regarded as the second player in history to do so after Pele. As of November 2025, Mbappé and Haaland, only 26 and 25 year old respectively, are ranked 6th and 9th respectively among the all-time Champions League top scorers. Until December 2025, Haaland averaged over one goal per game in both the Champions League and the national team.
In their very early career stage, both came to be considered as two of the best strikers of all time. Football critics generally agree that both are the most prolific strikers of their generation, outperforming their peers by a significant margin. In 2018 and 2019, Mbappé was selected as one of three forwards in the symbolic earth team along Messi and Ronaldo. In 2021, Haaland was picked along the same two and Lewandovski. The next three years, Mbappé and Haaland appeared jointly in the forward line-up, and Mbappé also in 2025.
Champions League
Mbappé surpassed Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the youngest man to reach 20, 30 and 40 goals in the Champions League and Haaland soon lowered each of those marks, as well as 50 goals. Haaland also attained 20, 30, 40 and 50 goals in the record low number of games.
Debuts
Mbappé was just 17 when he made his Champions League debut on 27 September 2016. He scored his first goal in the round of 16 on 21 February 2017, in a 5–3 loss away to Manchester City. In September 2019, Haaland became the first and so far the only 19 year old player to score a first-half hat-trick on his Champions League debut (in a 6-2 win against KRC Genk). For comparison, Mbappé struggled 4 matches to score his first goal in the League, Messi 5 and Cristiano Ronaldo 27.
10 goals
On 17 February 2021, Mbappé, eight days off his 19th birthday, became the youngest player ever to reach 10 goals (18 years, 350 days). Haaland scored 10 goals within 6 months from his debut and in his first 8 matches. Mbappé did it in 15 matches, Messi in 23 and Cristiano Ronaldo in 37
20 goals
Aged 21, Mbappé scored his first two goals of the 2020-21 campaign against Başakşehir, breaking the record of Messi (22 years, 266 days) to become the youngest player in history to reach 20 goals. He did it in his 40th appearance, equaling Messi's record of the fewest appearances. Cristiano Ronaldo was 24 when he reached the milestone.
Mbappé record was surpassed by Haaland the same season. In March 2021, in the last 16 round Haaland scored a brace in each leg against Sevilla. Within 18 months from his debut and 14 appearances, Haaland was already up to 20 goals in the competition, the first to do so before the 21st birthday. The only other men to reach double figures before turning 21 were Mbappé with 19 and Karim Benzema with 12; Messi had struck eight, Ronaldo zero. With only 14 matches played, this also made Haaland the fastest player to reach 20 goals in the competition, ten games fewer than the next player on the list, Harry Kane. Mbappé and Messi both needed 40 games to reach 20 goals, Cristiano Ronaldo 56.
Thus, Haaland hit the ground running in the Champions League, taking just seven games to reach ten goals and another seven to reach 20. In the first milestone, Sébastien Haller surpassed him with six games, while the second was record. Haaland finished the 2020-21 campaign as a top scorer with 10 goals, two clear ahead of the second place, Mbappé. Haaland became the youngest ever to take that title aged just 20.
In the same round of 16 when Haaland reached 20 goals, Mbappé scored a hat-trick for PSG against Messi's Barcelona. At this stage, the media debate on the new rivalry between him and Haaland as successor to the Messi-Ronaldo rivalry began in earnest, by Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand among others.
30 goals
In December 2021, Mbappé scored his 30th and 31si goals in a 4–1 home win over Brugge, becoming the youngest player to reach this milestone in the history of the competition (22 years and 352 days).
In March 2023, Haaland's five-goal haul against Leipzig took him to 30 goals in 25 games, setting another new record, earlier held by Ruud van Nistelrooy with 34 matches. Haaland also became the youngest player to score 30 goals. He finished the camoaign as a top scorer with 12 goals, 5 above Mbappé on the third place.
40 goals
In November 2022, Mbappé became the youngest player to net 40 goals (23 years, 316 days), beating the previous record of his teammate of the time, Messi (24 years, 130 days).
The next November, vs RB Leipzig Haaland became both the fastest (35 games) and the youngest (23 years 130 days) player to score 40 goals.
50 goals
Mbappé brought up his half-century on Matchday 6 in 2024-25 – a mark Haaland reached on Matchday 1 in 2025–26.
Having scored the first goal in City's 2–0 home victory against Napoli, Haaland became the fastest player to reach 50 goals in the competition. He needed only 49 matches, easily overtaking the previous record holder, Ruud van Nistelrooy, who reached it in 62. Messi did it in 66, Mbappé in 79 and Cristiano Ronaldo in 91. Haaland also rose to the top 10 all-time scorers in the European Champions Cup & League.
Ruud van Nistelrooy held previous records for the fastest 30, 40 and 50 goals in the Champions League. Haaland broke them all improving each by wider margin. He scored 30 goals in nine less games than the Dutchman, 40 goals in ten less and 50 in 13 less.
60 goals
The same month Haaland scored his 50th goal, in September 2025 on Matchday 2, Mbappé reached 60 goals with a hat-trick against FC Kairat, becoming the second youngest player and third fastest to do so, and the sixth highest scorer in the competition's history. As of December 2025, Messi held both the fastest and the youngest records for 60 goals, 80 games by 26 years 86 days.
Summary
As of December 2025, both Mbappé and Haaland recorded five hat-tricks in the Champions League. Both players scored hat tricks for different clubs. Haaland is one of only two players, along with Messi and Luiz Adriano to score five goals in a match (for City against Leipzig on 14 March 2023). Mbappé was the top scorer once (in 2024) and Haaland twice (in 2021 and 2023).
National teams
Early careers
In 2017, Mbappé made his international debut. With France, he won the 2018 FIFA World Cup and became the second after Pele teenager in history to score in a World Cup final.
In the 2019 U-20 World Cup, Haaland demolished Honduras with a record 9 goals in one match. In August the same year, he debuted in the senior national team, the next month scored his first goal and the next month his first hat-trick.
Mbappé reached the 2022 FIFA World Cup final where he scored a hat-trick to become the top scorer of the Cup, all-time top scorer of the World Cup finals, and shared with Pele the sixth place among the all-time World Cup scorers.
In September 2025, Haaland scored five goals in an 11–1 win over Moldova, becoming the first male European player to record five goals in a World Cup qualifier since Hans Krankl in 1977.
50 goals
In June 2025, Mbappé scored his 50th goal for France. In October the same year, Haaland scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win over Israel in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, becoming the fastest player to reach 50 international goals. He beat Harry Kane's record of 71 matches by achieving the milestone in just 46. Mbappé did it in 90 games, Messi in 107, Cristiano Ronaldo in 114.
Parity
A few days after Mbappé reached 400 career goals, Haaland's brace against Italy in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers equaled 55 international goals of Mbappé but with 46 fewer games for his country. The brace also secured Norway's World Cup return after 28 years and sent Italy to the playoffs for the third time in a row.
Haaland finished that qualifying campaign with 16 goals, equalling Lewandowski's record tally from the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. He also scored in 11 consecutive games for the national team, a feat unrepeated since the Malayan Abdul Ghani Minhat did it in 1961–62. One observer projected in October 2025: "With the pace he's currently scoring, he's almost gauranteed to become the quickest player to score 100 international goals in a few years time."
Career total
100 goals
Both stars started their professional career during the 2015/16 season, Mbappé playing for AS Monaco in the French League and Haaland for Norwegian top-tier side Bryne FK. On 11 June 2019, Mbappé scored his 100th career goal.
In March 2021, in Dortmund's league fixture against Bayern at the Allianz Arena, Haaland scored a brace. His second goal was the 100th of his senior career, reaching this milestone in 146 appearances. Mbappé needed 180 matches, Messi 200, and Cristiano Ronaldo 301.
200 goals
Mbappe started the calendar year 2022 against Vannes in the Coupe de France last 32. Having scored a hat-trick, he surpassed 200 career goals in 309 matches.
Later that year, Haaland moved to Manchester City and took the Premier League by storm, breaking its goal-scoring record for a season with 36 goals. He also ended as top scorer in the Champions League with 12 goals. This propelled City to its historic continental treble, including the first win in the Champions League, and to the European top rank. That season Haaland also became the first player in almost a century to score 50 or more goals for an English top-flight team.
In April 2023, Haaland scored his 200th career goal to become the second youngest player in the 21st century to reach the mark. He lost by 5 days to Neymar. Only these two players accomplished the feat before the 23rd birthday. Mbappé is third on the list, aged 23 and 14 days.
300 goals
In November 2023, Mbappé scored his 300th career goal. Aged 24 years, 10 months and 29 days, he became the youngest player in the 21st century to reach the milestone in Europe's top five leagues and international games combined.
In June 2025, the month Mbappé scored his 50th goal for France, Haaland scored his 300th career goal in a 5–2 win over Juventus in a FIFA Club World Cup group stage match, becoming, at the age of 24 years and 340 days, the second-youngest player in the 21st century to reach the landmark, only behind Mbappé.
400 goals
In 2024, Mbappé moved to Real Madtid and, similarly to Haaland's debut in England two years earlier, took his new League by storm. He broke the Real scoring record for a debut season in La Liga and overall.
In November 2025, defeating Ukraine and securing for France qualification to the 2026 World Cup, Mbappé scored his 400th career goal. He is named the youngest player to reach 400 goals since Pelé. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were 27 and 28 year old respectively when they crossed the milestone. The only named by the contemporary media player who could break the record any time soon was Haaland. His coming "loomed" to one contemporary observer "inevitable." Having listed the fastest players to reach 400 goals, he found all of them DoomEd: The feat of 400 goals, he concluded, so far reserved to the players of exceptional longevity, Haaland might "turn into a sprint that only he seems capable of running at full speed." Indeed, a few days after Mbappé reached 400, in the same qualifiers Haaland's brace against Italy equaled Mbappé's 55 international goals but with 46 fewer games for his country.
Awards
As of November 2025, they won 35 official team trophies in total (Mbappé 23 and Haaland 12) during their senior careers. Haaland won the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League with City. Mbappé has not won this cup as of 2025, once losing in the final, but both won the UEFA Supercup and FIFA Club World Cup, Mbappé in 2024 and Haaland the previous year. As of 2025, Mbappé and Haaland won 7 and 4 resepectively national championships, 6 and 4 respectively national cups, and 5 and 1 respectively national supercups. With France, Mbappé won the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 2020–21 UEFA Nations League and 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship but comparing the national team achievements between the two might be misleading as Haaland plays for a much weaker team.
In individual awards, as of 2025, Mbappé leads over Haaland 31 to 26. Both won golden boy award in 2017 and 2020 respectively and Globe Soccer Player of the Year in 2021 and 2023 respectively. Also in 2023, Haaland was named IFFHS World's Best Player, World Soccer Player of the Year, Marca top 100, UEFA Player of the Year, and Onze Mondial European Footballer of the Year. Mbappé won the Kopa Trophy in 2018 and was IFFHS World's Second Best Player twice, in 2022 second to Messi and in 2023 second to Haaland. Mbappé and Haaland appeared on the FIFPRO World 11 6 and 4 respectively times, including three times jointly.
As of 2025, Mbappé earned 8 Ballon d'Or consecutive nominations. In his first in 2017, he became the youngest nominee in history and held this record until 2024 when Lamine Yamal surpassed him. In 2023, Mbappé reached the podium for the first and so far the only time, taking the third place after Messi and Haaland. The next year, Mbappé was ranked after Haaland again. This time the duo occupied the 5-6th places. Haaland was consecutively nominated from 2021 to 2025.
In the early 2020s, the two have been regarded as the next generation-defining talents football has to offer. The pair's goal-scoring prowess resulted in a number of individual top scorer accolades. Mbappé was Champions League top scorer once (in 2024) and Haaland twice (in 2021 and 2023). Both won the European Golden Shoe (in 2025 and 2023 respectively) and Gerd Müller Trophy (in 2024 and 2023 respectively). Mbappé won 7 consecutive golden boots in his domestic leagues (6 in France and one in Spain, called Pichichi Trophy), while Haaland won two English Golden Boots in a row in 2023 and 2024, establishing on the first occasion the Premier League record of 36 goals per season. Throughout the existence of the race, the pair have broken a multitude of goalscoring records relatively to their age for both club and country, feats which have been described as "extraordinary," "ridiculous," and "legendary."
Styles of play
Both are extremely fast. Mbappé is faster, with a detected top speed of 23.6 mph. Haaland recorded 22.9 mph. Mbappe possesses a more explosive acceleration and more sudden turns, making him superior dribbler lauded for his ability to skip around players.
Haaland's running style, by contrast, was likened to an "armoured train"—a little awkward at the start but unstoppable once at maximum speed. He combines speed with size and power. An imposing figure at 6-foot-4 and 194 pounds, Haaland has received praise for his athleticism allowing him to bully defenders and granting him air supremacy.
Mbappé is more involved in build-up play and surpasses Haaland in career assists. Haaland idolises big and strong players like Zlatan Ibrahimović and Cristiano Ronaldo, whereas Mbappé favors Messi.
Relationship
In 2022, Haaland mentioned Mbappé as one of "many good players" but added that the Frenchman is a very strong, fast, phenomenal, incredible player, and persistent over many years. The French are very lucky to have him and he regrets Mbappé cannot play for Norway.
The same year, Mbappé said about Haaland: "It's the beginning for him. I'm happy for him, for what he's doing. However, I didn't just play up front; I played left and right. In all modesty, I don't think anyone is capable of changing a position like that every year and maintaining a great performance at the highest level." Indeed, Mbappé was named by IFFHS twice World's Best Football Men Right Winger (in 2018 and 2022) and twice World's Best Football Men Left Winger (in 2021 and 2023).
Player statistics
Club statistics
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International statistics
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Hat-tricks
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Head-to-head record
Mbappé and Haaland have not played in the same national league, not have met each other with their national teams. They have met three times in the Champions League. The first time in the 2019-20 round of 16, two Haaland goals inspired Dortmund to a 2-1 victory over Paris. Haaland was frustrated in the return, though, as Paris stormed back to win the tie 3–2 on aggregate. Mbappé came on as a late substitute to see the game out and lead the celebrations.
In the 2024-25 round 16, two Haaland goals twice gave Manchester City the lead in the first leg but Mbappé cancelled out the first and Madrid came back to snatch a 3–2 victory in England. With Haaland an unused substitute in the second league, Mbappé hit his third Champions League hat-trick in a 3-1 Madrid win.
See also
List of association football rivalries