Mbappé opens up on Ballon d'Or and defensive role at Real Madrid

The French forward became the 24th player to reach a century of goals in the famous white shirt. Against Barcelona, his milestone 100th strike saw him draw level with Fernando Morientes, putting him within touching distance of iconic figures such as Ivan Zamorano (101), Sergio Ramos (102) and Ronaldo Nazario (104).

The sheer velocity of his scoring makes the feat even more staggering. Kylian Mbappe had already shattered the record for the most goals scored by a Madrid player in their debut season with 44 strikes, eclipsing Zamorano's benchmark of 37 set in the 1992-93 campaign. The Frenchman has maintained that ruthless efficiency ever since, cementing his status as one of the fastest players ever to hit triple figures.

Mbappe required a mere 116 matches to reach his first ton for Real Madrid. That ranks him as the fifth-fastest player to hit the century mark in the club's illustrious history, comfortably outstripping Hugo Sanchez (142). He only narrowly missed out on bettering Alfredo Di Stefano (114) and Pahino (111). Ahead of them lie near-untouchable standards: Madrid's record goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo brought up his century in just 105 outings, while Ferenc Puskas averaged a goal a game, hitting the landmark in exactly 100 matches.

Mbappe still has plenty of ground to cover before to make even more history whilst wearing the white shirt. This term, he is well poised to leapfrog Gareth Bale (106) on the all-time scoring charts and close down icons such as Juanito (120) and Gonzalo Higuain (121). Chasing a double century and beyond, however, remains a colossal challenge. Ronaldo's ultimate tally continues to verge on the supernatural: while 'El Bicho' took slightly longer than Puskas to reach 100, he departed Madrid after nine seasons with an astonishing 450 goals in just 438 appearances.