"What happened in the EURO won't change the legend he is" - Kylian Mbappe on Cristiano Ronaldo during his Real Madrid presentation
New Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe has said that Cristiano Ronaldo will remain a Los Blancos legend and that of the game despite his lean Euro 2024 campaign. The 39-year-old went scoreless in five games as A Selecao lost to France on penalties in the quarter-final following a goalless 120 minutes.
Ronaldo played all five games of his team's continental campaign. But for the first time in 11 major-tournament appearances, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner failed to score in the group stage.
His luck didn't change in the knockouts, where he saw an extra-time penalty against Slovenia in the Round of 16 shootout win saved brilliantly by Jan Oblak. Ronaldo did redeem himself in the ensuing shootout, which Portugal won 3-0.
Ronaldo failed to score across 120 minutes in the quarter-final shootout defeat to Mbappe's France. He scored in the shootout, but Joao Felix's miss saw Les Bleus emerge victorious 5-3.
During his unveiling at Real Madrid on Tuesday (July 16), Mbappe said that Ronaldo still remains an icon of the club and that of the game (as per Madrid Xtra):
"What happened in the EURO won't change the legend Cristiano Ronaldo is, for Real Madrid and for football."
It's pertinent to note that Kylian Mbappe himself endured a lean Euro 2024 campaign, scoring once and assisting twice in five games as Didier Deschamps' side lost 2-1 in the semi-final to eventual champions Spain.
A look at Cristiano Ronaldo and new Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe's UEFA Champions League numbers
Real Madrid all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo is also the most prolific scorer in the UEFA Champions League, with 140 goals in 183 games across competitions. Most of those goals came during his nine-season stay at Los Blancos between 2009 and 2018: 105 goals in 101 games and four titles.
Kylian Mbappe, meanwhile, has also got an impressive record in the competition - 48 goals in 73 games. Most of those goals - 42 in 64 games - have come with PSG. But unlike Ronaldo, he's yet to win the competition.
Mbappe's most prolific season in the competition saw him score eight goals twice (2023-24 and 2020-21). Meanwhile, Ronaldo scored at least 10 times in the competition - all for Los Blancos - in a staggering seven straight seasons.
His prolific campaign saw him score 17 times in 11 games as Los Blancos won their La Decima in 2013-14.