Kylian Mbappe reveals Cristiano Ronaldo’s regrets after Lionel Messi experience

Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has admitted his dream of playing with Cristiano Ronaldo would be “very difficult now”.

The 25-year-old, in his young career, has already played with many of the sport’s greats, including arguably the best of all time, Lionel Messi.

3

It was a meeting that fueled his desire to play alongside Ronaldo, who is also considered by many to be the best of all time.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner left Madrid in 2018 and now plays for Saudi side Al-Nassr.

In 2021, after losing the title to Lille in embarrassing fashion, Paris Saint-Germain went hot in the transfer window and acquired Messi to add alongside Mbappe and Neymar.

They won Ligue 1 that season, but the Champions League remained elusive as they lost to Real Madrid in the round of 16.

Speaking to BeIN Sports about his recent years, Mbappé said: “I played with great players: Lionel Messi, Neymar, (Antoine) Griezmann, (Paul) Pogba, (Karim) Benzema…

“It would have been fun to play with Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s going to be very difficult now, but I had the chance to play against him, a legend of the sport.”

They first faced each other on the pitch in 2018 when Madrid beat PSG 5-2 on aggregate in the Champions League round of 16 to later win Ronaldo’s fourth and final European trophy in Spain.

The Portuguese star confirmed his legendary status at Madrid during his nine-year tenure and Mbappe is aiming to do the same following his big move to the club last summer.

This season has been eventful for Mbappe. With a Super Cup goal to start his campaign, it seemed to be business as usual for the striker.

But he struggled to fit in with his teammates as he was limited to a central role rather than being able to move away.

3

Only recently has the Frenchman achieved consistent form, scoring in his last three appearances.

Fans have high expectations from Mbappe and to meet those, he must emulate Ronaldo’s goal-scoring heroics.

The 39-year-old has scored 450 times in 438 appearances for Madrid while Mbappe still has a long way to go, with 13 goals in 23 games so far.

“I went to the biggest club in the world,” Mbappé added.

“I always said it was the only club I would have left PSG for. If I hadn’t been able to go to Madrid, I would have stayed at PSG all my life.

“Since I was 14, everyone told me I was going to be great. But when you’re big, sometimes you feel small… At first I was too hungry and that played tricks on me because I was impatient. But I have the passion and this competitive side.

3

“My dream now is to win trophies with my team, not individual awards. What great title do I have left? The Champions League, but I’m at the best club in the world for that.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side have already won two trophies this season, the Super Cup and the International Cup, but they have struggled.

Their poor performances have been repeated in Europe as their team sits 20th in the Champions League standings, two points away from not qualifying for the round of 16.

On the positive side, Madrid are just one point behind league leaders Barcelona with a game in hand.