Kylian Mbappe has added another remarkable chapter to his rapidly developing Real Madrid career, while Lionel Messi remains the benchmark for extraordinary scoring consistency in La Liga. The latest milestone achieved by the Frenchman after his goal against Elche has naturally revived comparisons with the Barcelona legend and raised a fascinating question about how their journeys through Spain’s top flight actually compare.
Mbappe scored during Real Madrid’s 3-2 victory over Elche this midweek, finally finding the net against the only La Liga opponent he had previously faced without scoring. The goal arrived in the 33rd minute, with the forward putting his body on the line as he collided with goalkeeper Matías Dituro, before later assisting Carlos Espí’s stoppage-time winner.
Elche had been the final holdout for Mbappe. He had already faced the club during the 2025-26 season, when Real Madrid drew 2-2, but the Frenchman failed to score on that occasion.
That changed at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero. With his latest goal, Mbappe has now scored against all 23 La Liga opponents he has faced since joining Real Madrid in 2024, although he has yet to encounter newly promoted Deportivo de La Coruña and Racing Santander.
The achievement has come remarkably quickly considering how recently Mbappe arrived in Spain. He has already scored 63 La Liga goals across his first three campaigns and has registered 94 goals in 110 appearances for Los Blancos in all competitions.
How long did Mbappe need?
Mbappe completed his current 23-team scoring set during the early part of his third La Liga season. In other words, the France captain needed three seasons, including the opening weeks of his third campaign, to score against every opponent he had actually faced.
His progress has been particularly impressive because he has maintained an extraordinary scoring rate throughout the period. Mbappe scored 31 league goals in 2024-25, followed that with 25 in 2025-26, and has already scored seven goals in his first six league appearances this season.
Kylian Mbappe and Federico Valverde of Real Madrid (UCL 2026-27)
How does it compare to Messi?
Messi’s story is different. The Argentine achieved the extraordinary feat of scoring against every active La Liga opponent in a single season during the 2012-13 campaign, but he reached that point nine seasons after making his senior Barcelona debut.
By then, Messi had already developed from a teenage winger into one of the most devastating forwards in soccer history. His ninth season in Barca’s first team produced one of the greatest scoring runs La Liga has ever seen.
The Argentine scored against all 19 opposing teams consecutively, producing goals in 21 straight La Liga matches between November 2012 and March 2013. He scored 33 goals during that 21-game sequence, completing the remarkable sweep when Barcelona faced Celta Vigo on March 30, 2013.
Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona celebrates after scoring against Celta de Vigo
Messi found the net in the 73rd minute against Celta, converting a cross from Cristian Tello as the Blaugrana drew 2-2. That goal completed a run in which he had scored against every other team in the division without a single break in the sequence.
Two milestones, two very different paths
The comparison makes the contrast between the two forwards particularly interesting. Mbappe needed three seasons to score against every La Liga opponent he had faced, while Messi reached the equivalent single-season milestone in his ninth season, doing so by scoring against every active opponent in one uninterrupted sequence.
There is also an important difference in the definition of the achievement. Mbappe’s current record covers 23 teams he has personally faced, whereas Messi’s 2012-13 feat involved all 19 opposing clubs in the entire La Liga season.
