Mbappe can become as good as Ronaldo, according to Ancelotti

Following Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick in Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over Manchester City, which advanced the Champions League winners to the round of 16, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti showered his striker with accolades.

With 451 goals in 438 games for the 15-time Champions League winners, Real Madrid’s all-time top scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, might surpass Mbappe, according to Ancelotti.

“He has the quality to reach his numbers, but he has to work, because Cristiano set the bar very high, but he is so excited to play here, he can reach Cristiano’s level,” Ancelotti said during a news conference.

“His hat-trick was anticipated by many, and it has now materialized. However, Mbappe is not the only player who contributes; there are other more. It is noteworthy that they elevate their combined efforts over their individual merits.

“I don’t care about being the top scorer if it doesn’t lead to silverware,” said Mbappe, who scored 256 goals in 308 appearances during six years at Paris St. Germain.

“Last year, I led the Champions League in scoring, but did I take home the trophy? Mbappe denied this to reporters.

“I don’t care about becoming the top scorer; I’ve scored a lot of goals in my career. I will sign with my blood if we succeed in achieving these aims. “I just want to win titles,” he continued, “but if I can score fifty, that’s even better.”

UPCOMING OPPONENTS

Ancelotti expressed regret that his team had to endure the agony of the knockout stage, but he also held them accountable for their poor start to the season, which put them outside the top eight in the league rankings.

Based on Friday’s draw, the holders will play either Bayer Leverkusen or city rivals Atletico Madrid in an attempt to win a record-tying 16th championship.

“It’s not positive at all having to go through the knock-out because we had to play 10 games to get to the last 16,” Ancelotti stated.

Since the real season begins at this time, we are not exiting a challenging phase; rather, we are beginning one. It is impossible to pause or take a break. On an emotional level, however, this tie has been beneficial to us. Let’s proceed.

In the upcoming round, Mbappe stated that he would rather play Atletico, his local rivals.

“We travel a lot, so I think it would be preferable to play against Atletico since we won’t have to travel. Two of the games would be quite challenging, while one would not require travel.