According to coach Carlo Ancelotti, striker Kylian Mbappe has the ability to repeat the achievements of his predecessor Cristiano Ronaldo in Real Madrid’s shirt.”It’s very difficult to compare two players,” Ancelotti said on March 31 at a press conference ahead of the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg against Sociedad. “I hope Mbappe can achieve what Cristiano Ronaldo did at Real. He is absolutely capable of doing that. If he does, Mbappe will become a Real legend like Ronaldo.”
Ronaldo played for Real from 2009 to 2018, setting a record of 450 goals in 438 matches in all competitions, averaging more than one goal per match.
Despite a difficult start, Mbappe has equalled his senior’s record in his first season at Real: scoring 33 goals in all competitions. In history, only former Chilean Ivan Zamorano (37) scored more goals in his first season at the Bernabeu.
When mentioning the above achievement, after the 3-2 win over Leganes in round 29 of La Liga last week, Mbappe said it was great, especially when Ronaldo always had a great influence on Real as well as him personally.
In the first leg of the Copa del Rey, Real won 1-0 thanks to the only goal from Endrick – who has had limited appearances this season. The 18-year-old striker has only played 28 games in all competitions, and mainly came on as a substitute.
Ancelotti said Endrick was not unhappy about playing little since the beginning of the season as rumored, and could be given a chance in the second leg at the Bernabeu today. The Italian coach stressed that Endrick must be patient because he is still young and cannot compete for a position with attacking stars like Mbappe, Vinicius or Rodrygo. He pointed out that Vinicius, Rodrygo, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga had to be on the bench for a long time before becoming Real’s mainstays. “If you want to be at Real, it’s normal to be on the bench,” he said.
Ancelotti was also asked about Barca – the club currently top of La Liga and has scored four goals in 20 games since the start of the season. Meanwhile, despite possessing many attacking stars, Real often only wins by the minimum.
According to Ancelotti, Real has a different style from Barca because they have players with different characteristics and playing styles. “Barca plays beautiful football, Real plays a different football with a lot of quality,” the 65-year-old coach said. “You can say Barca plays well and Real plays badly, but I like the way we play. Every season, we have changes, from players, squad to tactics. So it’s difficult to build a clear identity.”
