After finally opening his account for Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappe has revealed how he deals with the pressure of being Cristiano Ronaldo’s “successor”.
After failing to score in his first three official LALIGA matches for Real Madrid, the France international bagged a bragged for his new club in their 2-0 victory over Real Betis on Sunday.
In the 67th minute, the 25-year-old latched on to a backheel by Federico Valverde and slotted into the back of the net despite opposition goalkeeper Rui Silva rushing off his line in an attempt to save the shot.
Then, the former Paris Saint-Germain star kept his cool to convert a penalty in the 76th minute, sealing the victory for the Spanish giants.
With the attacker having finally broken his duck at the club, many expect him to follow in the footsteps of Ronaldo, who accumulated a whopping 450 goals and 131 assists in 438 appearances for Los Blancos.
Mbappe, currently regarded as one of the best forwards in the world, has shown he has the ability to be relied upon as a talisman, scoring 256 goals in 308 games for PSG and leading them to six domestic championships.
While the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner is known to have idolised the Portuguese superstar during his youth, he has revealed how he deals with the expectation that he will emulate Ronaldo’s achievements.
“Cristiano is my idol, but I don’t think about the pressure of being his successor,” the Frenchman said, per Madrid Xtra.
“I want to be Kylian. The only pressure I want is about me and the team.”
Mbappe has also admitted that going three games without scoring was something that weighed heavily on his shoulders.
“I’ve been very happy since I’ve arrived. People are very nice to me, even when I didn’t score,” the forward said, per the club’s official website.
“Three games without scoring for a lot of people isn’t much, but for me, it’s a lot.
“The people at the club, the players and the fans have always been behind me. They trust me to score goals for this badge.”
