Mbappé Breaks Messi’s Record, Becomes Youngest to Reach 100 Champions League Appearances

French superstar Kylian Mbappé broke Lionel Messi’s record to become the youngest player to make 100 appearances in the UEFA Champions League, marking the milestone with a goal in Real Madrid’s thrilling 4-3 victory over Roma.

Mbappé reached the landmark at 27, surpassing Messi, who had achieved the feat at 28 during a match against Roma in September 2015. The French forward celebrated his achievement by scoring Madrid’s first-half equaliser at the Stadio Olimpico.

The milestone added another chapter to Mbappé’s growing Champions League legacy. Making his debut in the competition as a 17-year-old with Monaco in September 2016, he has since established himself among Europe’s most prolific forwards.

His latest goal was his 72nd in the Champions League, taking him past former Real Madrid striker Raúl González into fifth place on the competition’s all-time scoring list. Mbappé also scored Madrid’s opener in a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan last month.

The forward finished as the Champions League’s leading scorer last season with 15 goals. His campaign included a remarkable hat-trick against Olympiacos, when he scored three times in just six minutes and 42 seconds, registering the second-fastest hat-trick in the competition’s history.

Mbappé was not the only player to surpass a Messi record on Wednesday. Erling Haaland scored twice for Manchester City in their 4-2 home defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, taking his Champions League tally to 61 goals in 60 appearances.

According to UEFA, Haaland reached 60 goals at the age of 26 years and 85 days, becoming the youngest player to achieve the milestone and breaking Messi’s previous record by just one day.

The achievements underline how a new generation of attacking stars is rewriting the Champions League record books, with Mbappé and Haaland continuing to challenge benchmarks set by the likes of Messi.