Kylian Mbappé becomes World Cup’s all-time top goalscorer with 22 goals

Kylian Mbappé is a France forward known for his blistering pace and cool head in front of goal. At the age of 19, he won the 2018 World Cup. He scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final. In July 2026, he became the highest goalscorer in World Cup history with 22 goals, one more than Lionel Messi. He is the first player to win the World Cup “Golden Boot” twice¹², and he is also France’s all-time leading scorer³.

Early life and beginnings

Mbappé was born in Paris on 20 December 1998 and grew up in Bondy, a suburb of the city. As a teenager he joined the academy of the French club Monaco. In December 2015, aged 16, he played his first match for the first team⁹.

He scored 27 goals in two seasons at Monaco¹⁰. In the summer of 2017, France’s biggest club signed him.

Club career

In 2017 Mbappé moved to Paris Saint-Germain, first on loan and the following year permanently. Over the next seven seasons he scored 256 goals in 308 matches. He overtook Edinson Cavani to become the club’s all-time top scorer. According to ESPN, during this period he won six French league titles, four French Cups, two League Cups and three Super Cups. He was the league’s top scorer for six consecutive seasons. His last match for Paris was the French Cup final on 25 May 2024, which the team won 2-1 against Lyon⁴.

In June 2024 he joined Real Madrid on a free transfer⁹. According to Real Madrid, he played his 100th match for the club on 24 April 2026, by which time he had scored 85 goals⁶. In the 2025-26 season he was the top scorer in the Spanish league with 25 goals and in the Champions League with 15 goals⁷. On 8 September 2026 he scored against Inter Milan. That took him to 71 Champions League goals, level with Real Madrid’s former captain Raúl⁸.

International career

Mbappé played his first match for France in March 2017. The following year the World Cup was held in Russia. In the final in Moscow, which France won 4-2 against Croatia, he also scored⁹. According to AP, like Pele, he became a world champion as a teenager⁵.

In the 2022 final in Qatar, Argentina led France 2-0 when Mbappé scored twice within two minutes to level the match. In extra time he scored a third to complete his hat-trick. The match ended 3-3 and Argentina won on penalties. According to Reuters, he is the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, after England’s Geoff Hurst in 1966⁵. He scored 8 goals at that tournament and won the Golden Boot¹.

In France’s first match of the 2026 World Cup (United States, Canada, Mexico), a 3-1 win over Senegal, he scored twice. He overtook Olivier Giroud (57) to become France’s top scorer with 58 goals³. France lost to Spain in the semi-final. In the third-place match in Miami on 18 July, England won 6-4. However, two goals from Mbappé took him to 22 World Cup goals, ahead of Messi (21)¹. In the final the next day, Messi did not score, and Mbappé won the Golden Boot for the second time in a row with 10 goals².

Style of play

Mbappé’s greatest strength is his pace. Given space, he gets behind the defence in a few strides. He likes to cut in from the left and shoot, but also plays as a central striker⁹. His numbers show his consistency: an average of 0.83 goals per match in Paris⁴. Scoring in big matches is his hallmark, as shown by his four goals in two World Cup finals⁵.

Statistics

The Paris figures are from ESPN (25 May 2024; ESPN counts 307 matches), the Monaco goals from beIN Sports, and the Real Madrid figures from the club’s own website. The number of Monaco matches and France’s matches rely only on Wikipedia, and France’s goals match the totals given in international news reports³⁴⁶⁹¹⁰. These figures were collected on 20 October 2026. Mbappé is still playing.

Honours

• FIFA World Cup: 2018 [5]
• World Cup Golden Boot: 2022, 2026 [1][2]
• Most goals in World Cup history: 22 [1]
• French league: 6 times with Paris Saint-Germain [4]
• French Cup: 4 times [4]
• Top scorer in the Spanish league (Pichichi): 2025-26 [7]
• Top scorer in the Champions League: 2025-26 [7]
• All-time top scorer for France and Paris Saint-Germain [3][4]

Legacy

At the age of 27, Mbappé holds a record that once belonged to Miroslav Klose and then Messi. According to AP, his 10 goals in 2026 are the third-highest total at a single World Cup. Only Just Fontaine (13) and Sandor Kocsis (11) are ahead of him, and Gerd Muller (10) is level with him¹. His career is still going, and many of his records are still growing.