Coach Álvaro Arbeloa said Kylian Mbappé “has the qualities” to match the “out of this world” Cristiano Ronaldo‘s impact at Real Madrid.
The star forward scored his 38th goal of the season in the team’s 2-0 win at Valencia on Sunday.
Left-back Álvaro Carreras opened the scoring in the 65th minute at Mestalla on Sunday, before Mbappé scored a second in added time to give Madrid a victory which keeps them one point behind leaders Barcelona at the top of LaLiga.
Mbappé — who has now scored 23 league goals in this second campaign in Spain, with another 13 in the Champions League, and two in the Copa del Rey — still has a long way to go to match Ronaldo, who is Madrid’s all-time top scorer with 450 goals over nine seasons.
“We thought we wouldn’t see anything like Cristiano, but [Mbappé] is on track,” Arbeloa told Real Madrid TV after Sunday’s game, before going into more detail in his post-match news conference.
“Right now he’s the best player in the world for sure,” Arbeloa added.
“What Cristiano did looked like something out of this world and impossible to match, as if nobody could come close. Kylian has a long path, because Cris was here for many years. But Kylian has the qualities to follow his path. You never know. If anyone can do it, it’s Kylian.”
Mbappé has now scored 81 goals in all competitions since joining Madrid in the summer of 2024, although he is yet to win a major trophy with the club.
Arbeloa also discussed why he’d selected youngster David Jiménez at right-back at Mestalla, with more experienced options Dani Carvajal and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the bench.
Alexander-Arnold was introduced in the 76th minute, while Carvajal remained an unused substitute, as both continue their recoveries from injury.
“The fact that academy kids can play in a game like this and contribute is great news,” Arbeloa said. “With Trent, after a long time out, we’ll be very cautious. We want [recovering players] to find their rhythm little by little. With Trent, it will be like that.”
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Alexander-Arnold has played just 406 minutes in LaLiga this season — with the game against Valencia being his first appearance of 2026 — while Carvajal has featured even less.
“Dani looks better in training all the time,” Arbeloa said, when asked about Carvajal. “We won’t take any risks. When we had some days off, he was working at [Madrid’s training ground] Valdebebas. I don’t have to tell you how important Dani is in the dressing room.”
Arbeloa defended the team’s performance against Valencia, which saw them struggle to create chances before Carreras’ opening goal.
“We know coming to Mestalla is like going to the dentist,” Arbeloa said. “We knew how difficult the game would be. It was a very serious, committed game from the players.”
