Before Argentina’s triumphant Copa América campaign in 2021, football fans often lamented on social media whenever La Albiceleste underperformed: “What can Messi do alone?” Today, a similar question echoes around Real Madrid, only with Kylian Mbappé in Messi’s place: “Can Mbappé carry Real Madrid alone?”
The statistics leave little doubt. In recent fixtures, Mbappé has emerged as the club’s primary hope, often shouldering the team’s attacking burden almost single-handedly. A recent illustration came in Real Madrid’s Champions League clash against Benfica, where Los Blancos suffered a 4–2 defeat. Despite the loss, Mbappé dominated the team’s attacking metrics: he led with four shots on goal and four successful dribbles, contributed 22 passes in the attacking third—the most by any Madrid player—and created three goal-scoring opportunities, scoring the only goal for his side. The numbers alone testify to his relentless effort.
Across the season, Mbappé’s contribution dwarfs that of his teammates. In the 2025–26 campaign, Real Madrid have scored 75 goals in 33 matches, with Mbappé responsible for 36 goals in just 29 appearances. No other player has reached double figures; Vinícius Júnior trails with seven goals, followed by Jude Bellingham with six.
La Liga and Champions League contributions:
| Player | La Liga Goals | Champions League Goals | Total Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kylian Mbappé | 21 | 13 | 36 |
| Vinícius Júnior | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Jude Bellingham | 6 | 2 | 8 |
In La Liga, Mbappé is Real’s top scorer with 21 goals in 20 matches. Vinícius, the second-highest scorer, has five, ranking 23rd across all La Liga players. In the Champions League, Mbappé leads with 13 goals in seven games, while Bellingham, with only two goals, is ranked 54th—a clear illustration of the dependence on the French forward.
The imbalance is evident in the team’s performance. Real currently trail league leaders Barcelona by just one point, while in the Champions League they must navigate a play-off after the Benfica loss eliminated them from the top eight. Despite Mbappé’s scoring consistency, the rest of the squad has frequently failed to rise to the occasion. He scores not only to win matches but, in many ways, to compensate for his teammates’ underperformance. So far, he has contributed 48% of Real Madrid’s goals this season.
Mbappé’s dominance recalls Cristiano Ronaldo’s peak years at Real. Ronaldo’s record season in 2014–15 saw him score 61 goals, which constituted 37.6% of the team’s total. This season, Mbappé’s goal-scoring rate already surpasses that proportion, and with nearly 24 matches remaining, he could finish the campaign with 66 goals if he maintains his current 1.24 goals-per-match average.
Real Madrid’s success is increasingly Mbappé-dependent, raising an unavoidable question for fans and pundits alike: can one player carry an entire team in modern football?