La Liga
Before 27: The Data Behind Messi’s Unmatched Scoring Peak And How Mbappé Compares
Kylian Mbappé recently turned 27, and the Real Madrid forward has already broken numerous records in his career.
However, he has not managed to surpass Lionel Messi in the tally of league goals scored before turning 27.
In Europe’s top five leagues, here are the 10 players with the most league goals before reaching their 27th birthday.
Lionel Messi: 243 goals
Lionel Messi’s tally of 243 league goals before turning 27 has remained untouched since 2014.
He remains La Liga’s all-time top scorer with 474 goals more than half of which he astonishingly scored before his 27th birthday.
What makes the feat even more remarkable is that Messi wasn’t operating as a traditional No. 9. Despite not being an out-and-out striker, his productivity was unmatched, and he still managed to supply 94 league assists in that period, underscoring just how complete a creator and scorer he was.
Kylian Mbappe: 239 goals
Mbappe was just four goals shy of levelling Messi’s record.
The French forward scored the majority of his league goals in Ligue 1 for PSG and has kept that same pace with Real Madrid in La Liga.
If he maintains his current scoring rate, he’ll surely rank among the all-time greats by the time he retires.
Gerd Müller: 204 goals
Before Messi arrived, Muller held the record for the most league goals scored before turning 27.
In fact, he was the only player in one of Europe’s top-five leagues to exceed 200 goals before his 27th birthday in the 20th century.
Overall, Muller tallied a record 365 Bundesliga goals, with 204 of them coming before his 27th birthday.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 174 goals
Considering Ronaldo spent his early years playing as a traditional winger in the Premier League, his output becomes even more impressive with that context in mind.
He turned 27 in February 2012, during his third season in Spain with Real Madrid.
Now at the impressive age of 40, CR7 remains truly one of a kind.
Giuseppe Meazza: 172 goals
Meazza celebrated his 27th birthday in 1937 while with Inter Milan.
He remains the club’s all-time top scorer with 287 goals and is tied for the fourth-highest scorer in Serie A history.
The Italian forward was also the first player in Serie A history to reach both 100 and 200 goals, a notable achievement.
Raul: 166 goals
Raul made his senior debut for Real Madrid in 1994 and he went on to score 228 league goals in 550 matches for the Spanish giants.
In total, he scored 166 La Liga goals before turning 27, a figure surpassed in Spain only by Messi.
Erling Haaland: 166 goals
Haaland is only 25 and has already scored 166 league goals, so he’s certain to climb this list in the coming years.
If you limit it to Bundesliga and Premier League goals, he’s already surpassed the totals Rooney and Aguero had before turning 27.
Haaland will turn 27 in July 2027, leaving roughly a year and a half to add to his tally.
