The former Monaco striker has broken the mark previously held by the Barcelona legend. Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe has become the youngest player in Champions League history to reach 20 goals in the competition, breaking a record previously held by Lionel Messi.
Mbappe scored from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute against Istanbul Basaksehir on Wednesday, giving his side a three-goal lead at half-time after Neymar had already scored a brace.
At 21 years and 355 days, Mbappe is the youngest player to reach 20 career goals in the Champions League, with Messi previously having set the mark at 22 years, 266 days.
The top five is rounded out by three other towering figures in football’s recent history: Raul, Alessandro Del Piero and Karim Benzema.
Mbappe’s record came just days after he reached another career milestone, scoring his 100th goal for PSG with his strike against Montpellier.
Wednesday’s match began 14 minutes in, after the game was originally started on Tuesday and then postponed following allegations of racism against the fourth official, who had identified Basaksehir assistant Pierre Webo as “the black one.”
Prior to the resumption of the match on Wednesday, PSG and Basaksehir sent a powerful anti-racist message by kneeling together around the centre circle.
Players from both sides also wore shirts that proclaimed, “no to racism” during warm-ups while banners in Parc des Princes registered their support for Webo, a former Cameroon international forward who has worked at Basaksehir as part of the coaching staff since 2019.
Under Article 14 of UEFA’s discipline measures and procedures, Tuesday’s fourth official Sebastian Coltescu could be facing a ban of at least 10 matches.
Article 14 states that “any person under the scope of Article 3 who insults the human dignity of a person or group of persons on whatever grounds, including skin colour, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation, incurs a suspension lasting at least 10 matches or a specified period of time, or any other appropriate sanction.“
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