Kylian Mbappe maintains that Cristiano Ronaldo is "still number one" at Real Madrid, but wants to forge his own path and doesn't want to replicate the Portuguese superstar, who is the all-time top scorer for Los Blancos.

It is well known that Mbappe had posters of Ronaldo on his wall as a kid, admitting that the Al-Nassr star is one of his role models. Ronaldo made the move from Manchester United to Real in 2009 and spent nine years in the Spanish capital.

He scored a staggering scored 450 goals en route to winning the Ballon d'Or four times, the Champions League on four occasions and La Liga twice. Ronaldo remains the most prolific player in Los Blancos history and Mbappe now has a relationship with the 40-year-old.

Despite previously having the likes of Zinedine Zidane and the Brazilian Ronaldo on their books Mbappe insists that Ronaldo is the benchmark for any player at Real and is drawing on his experience.

He told Movistar: "Cristiano has always been a role model for me. I'm lucky enough to talk to him, he gives me advice, he's helped me. I think in Madrid he's still the number one. He's the reference point for Real Madrid players, who's done a lot. The fans still dream about Cristiano. But I want to follow my own path."

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Mbappe's admiration for Ronaldo dates back to his childhood. Growing up in France he received tickets from his parents to see Ronaldo in action for Real Madrid when they played Marseille at the Stade Velodrome in the Champions League.

Aged only 10 at the time he attended the December 2009 fixture and arrived two hours before kick-off to ensure he didn't miss a second of Ronaldo's warm-up. After the game he waited behind to meet Ronaldo - asking for an autograph, a photo and his boots.

Mbappe has proved himself to be a goalscorer, scoring 44 times in his debut season the Bernabeu after joining on a free from PSG. It didn't result in any honours however as Real were beaten to the major trophies by Barcelona.

The Frenchman has 14 goals already this campaign with Los Blancos sat top of La Liga. He's currently on international duty with Les Bleus, who are favourites for the World Cup next summer, but Mbappe has come up short in major tournaments as of late.

Spain head into the World Cup as European champions and the Real star accepts that some of his club team-mates are part of the most impressive team. "For me, [Spain] are the best team in Europe right now," Mbappe said. "But the World Cup is different."

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