Mbappe breaks Cavani record in PSG cracker
Kylian Mbappe surpassed Edinson Cavani as Paris Saint-Germain's all-time leading goalscorer after netting in a 4-2 victory over Nantes on Sunday (AEDT).
Uruguay striker Cavani scored 200 for the club, taking the record from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Mbappe is now out in front with 201 after sealing PSG's win in a thrilling contest at Parc des Princes.
Mbappe's goal cam after Lionel Messi and a Jaoeun Hadjam own goal had put PSG 2-0 ahead in just 17 minutes, only to be pegged back to 2-2.
Danilo headed PSG back in front in the second half, nodding home a pinpoint cross from Mbappe, before the Frenchman sealed the win late much to the delight of an adoring home crowd in the France capital.
The 24-year-old joined from Monaco on an initial loan deal in 2017 before his stay was made permanent for €180 million ($282.7 million) – he remains the second-most expensive player of all time.
He scored 21 goals in his debut campaign but then reached an altogether different level in the 2018-2019 season, scoring 33 in Ligue 1 alone.
Mbappe has continued on a similar trajectory ever since, with his 201st goal coming after just 247 matches – Cavani's 200 came from 301 appearances.
Although Mbappe's form was deemed to have waned – aside from his five-goal haul against sixth-tier Pays de Cassel in the Coupe de France – after the FIFA World Cup, he has shown his importance to the club by reaching such a landmark.
He arrived at PSG during the same transfer window as Neymar, while the 2021 signing of Lionel Messi brought another big name aiming to be the club's main man.
Yet Mbappe has been comfortably the most consistent of the trio, regularly spurring PSG on to success in the absence of the often-injured Neymar prior to Messi's arrival.
Mbappe is also closing in on Cavani's status as PSG's record Ligue 1 goalscorer, with the current Valencia player having scored 138 in France's top tier – his former team-mate is just two behind.
It seems doubtful that Mbappe will stick around long enough to take the all-time record for Ligue 1 goals, however.
Former Monaco, Reims, Tours and Toulon forward Delio Onnis holds the record with 299.
To surpass him, Mbappe would likely need to spend several more years in Ligue 1, and that seems unlikely given the almost continuous links with the likes of Real Madrid.
