This takes us back to before Argentina won the 2021 Copa América. Whenever Argentina lost or performed poorly, social media was filled with the same question: “What can Messi do alone?”

Now, the same can be said about Real Madrid—but with Kylian Mbappé in Messi’s place. The question is: what can Mbappé achieve on his own?

Even without saying it aloud, the statistics make it clear that Mbappé has been carrying the hopes of Real Madrid almost single-handedly.

The most recent example came in the Champions League match against Benfica. Despite Real Madrid losing 4–2, Mbappé led the team in key metrics: he had the most shots (4), the most dribbles (4), and the highest number of passes in the attacking third (22). After Arda Güler (6), he also created the most goal-scoring opportunities (3) and scored the only goals for Real. It was evident that Mbappé was putting in the effort.

Over the course of the season, his individual contributions far outshine those of his teammates. In the 2025–26 season, Real Madrid has scored 75 goals in 33 matches—36 of those were scored by Mbappé alone. No other player has even reached double digits; Vinícius has 7 goals, and Jude Bellingham 6.

While Vinícius and Bellingham have struggled this season, Mbappé is topping the scoring charts. In La Liga, he has 21 goals in 20 matches. Finding another Real player on the league’s top scorers list is almost like searching for a needle in a haystack. Vinícius is the team’s second-highest scorer with 5 goals, ranking 23rd overall.

Mbappé is also leading in the Champions League, with 13 goals in 7 matches. However, other Real players barely feature—Bellingham is 54th with just 2 goals in 7 games.

This imbalance has impacted Real Madrid in major competitions. In La Liga, Real trails Barcelona by just one point. In the Champions League, that loss to Benfica means they must navigate the playoffs to reach the round of 16. In both competitions, Mbappé has become a consistent goal scorer, but the rest of the team has failed to step up when needed.

Even after giving his all, Mbappé could not prevent defeat against Benfica, and his frustration on the pitch was visible.

In a sense, Mbappé has been scoring to cover for the shortcomings of his teammates. So far this season, he has scored 48% of Real Madrid’s goals. When a single player contributes nearly half of a team’s goals, it has both positives and negatives. Positively, Mbappé is giving everything for the team. Negatively, his success highlights the lack of contribution from others, creating an imbalance in the squad’s performance. Real now mirrors how Barcelona once relied heavily on Lionel Messi—but the question remains: how long can a team rely on one player?

Spanish media outlet AS reports that over the last two months, Mbappé has scored 62.1% of Real Madrid’s goals. In the last 12 matches, he has scored 18 goals, failing only against Celta Vigo and Barcelona—matches Real lost. He scored against nine other teams, with Real winning seven of those games, drawing one, and only losing to Benfica despite his two goals.

Mbappé’s performances are reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo’s peak days at Real Madrid, when coaches relied heavily on him despite several other stars in the squad. Ronaldo scored a record 59 goals in a single calendar year at Real in 2013—a record Mbappé matched last year. This season, Mbappé has already broken Ronaldo’s group-stage Champions League scoring record.

Mbappé is clearly enjoying his time at Real Madrid. Ronaldo’s best season, 2014–15, saw him score 61 goals, but he never contributed more than 37.6% of the team’s total goals in a single season. In contrast, halfway through this season, Mbappé has scored nearly half of Real’s goals, with a current rate of 62%.

Mbappé is carrying Real Madrid almost on his own. But football is a team game—so the question remains: what can Mbappé do alone?