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Kylian Mbappé reached 300 career goals faster than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He reached the milestone in France's 14-0 win over Gibraltar on Saturday at the age of 24 years and 333 days. Mbappé is now the third-fastest player to reach 300 goals, behind Wayne Rooney and Pele.
Messi and Ronaldo, who are considered two of the greatest soccer players of all time, were both older when they reached 300 goals. Messi was 25 years and four months old when he reached the milestone, while Ronaldo was 27 years old.
"What this kid is doing is really out of this world," said Thierry Henry, who is now tasked with guiding a new generation of French players as coach of the under-21 national team. "It's just unbelievable."
Mbappe and Henry have a lot in common
Mbappé has been compared to Henry throughout his career, and the two players have a lot in common.
Both players went through the Clairefontaine academy before playing for Monaco, with whom they both won the French championship. Mbappé then replicated another of Henry's achievements when he won the 2018 World Cup in his first major tournament with France.
Henry managed to do it in 1998. "He's a scorer, he assists, he knows how to do everything. Of course, there's room for improvement, but that's not the point," said Henry. With his 17th career hat-trick against Gibraltar, Mbappé reached his 21st goal of the season in 19 matches.
So far, he has scored 46 goals in 74 games for France and is now only five goals behind Henry on the French all-time scoring list, that is, he has ten goals less than record holder Olivier Giroud.
Potential to Reach 1,000 Goals
When asked how many goals Mbappé could score in his career, Henry jokingly put the figure at 1,000 before saying: "It's all up to him." "He is a guy who breathes soccer, who prepares well, his professionalism and desire to play are always there.
300 goals? There are some who didn't even manage it in training," said Henri. Mbappé has the potential to reach 1,000 goals in his career, but it will require him to maintain his current level of play for many years to come. He is already considered one of the best players in the world, and he is only going to get better.