‘I am here’ – Kylian Mbappe emulates idol Cristiano Ronaldo after landmark Real Madrid strike

01/25/2025 05:42 PM

Kylian Mbappe has left Real Madrid supporters buzzing as his electric form continues.

The French forward struck his first-ever hat-trick for Los Blancos in their 3-0 victory over Real Valladolid on Saturday night, a result which puts them four points clear at the top of La Liga.

The 26-year-old’s first goal of the night came after some wonderful link-up play with Jude Bellingham.

Playing a one-two with the England star, Mbappe slotted home to put Real Madrid 1-0 up before wheeling away in celebration.

As part of his celebration, Mbappe pulled out the ‘I am here’ gesture as he pointed to himself before pointing to the turf.

The celebration is widely regarded as one made famous by Cristiano Ronaldo, a player who the French forward sees as an idol.

Finding the net two more times in the victory over Real Valladolid, Mbappe took his tally of goals for Real Madrid to 22 goals for the season.

Taking 31 games to reach the 20-goal landmark, Mbappe was still 10 games slower to reach that tally than Ronaldo, who managed it in just 21.

But despite that the former Paris Saint-Germain star’s recent form has given a strong hint of what’s to come.

Mbappe has now scored eight goals in his last five matches with supporters of the Spanish giants delighted at the performances that he’s putting in.

Some have even compared him to the Portuguese superstar.

One fan said: “Mbappe is putting up Cristiano Ronaldo numbers in Madrid. What a player!!!”

Another commented: “Kylian Mbappe is the new Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid.”

Meanwhile a third added: “Kylian Mbappe with another hit, just like his Idol Cristiano Ronaldo.”

Mbappe first revealed that the Al Nassr star was his ‘idol’ back in 2020, saying: “If you are French, you obviously grow up with Zidane as an idol.

“Then another idol was Cristiano, with whom I have already had the good fortune to measure myself as a rival, also with the national team.”

Ronaldo is regarded as a Real Madrid great after scoring 450 goals in 438 games for the Spanish giants.

Mbappe has some hard yards to put in if he’s to reach those kinds of numbers, but the striker hitting top gear at last it’d be foolish to put any limitations on what he could achieve at the Bernabeu.