How Young Haaland, Ronaldo, Messi & Mbappe Were When They Scored 300th Career Goal

Goalscoring is a fine art mastered by very few. While – on the surface, at least – it may look simple, every goal-getter-in-chief will tell you how much dedication and practice it takes to be a constant threat in front of goal, to be a reliable source of goals, to be a goalkeeper’s worst nightmare.

And Erling Haaland is exactly that – the Manchester City hitman has become just the second player in the 21st century to reach the 300-goal mark before his 25th birthday, reaching the milestone in Manchester City’s 5-2 win over Juventus at the Club World Cup.

But how does the talismanic Norwegian, widely regarded as one of the best strikers in Premier League history, compare to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in terms of how long it took them to score a grand total of 300 goals since the turn of the millennium?

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Eight Youngest Players to Reach 300 Goals in 21st Century

Mbappe, Ronaldo and Messi all feature

Well, fear not, as the IFFHS – the International Federations of Football History and Statistics – have released a detailed graphic to outline the eight youngest players to have done so. We all know how much of a goalscoring phenomenon Haaland, 24, has been since swapping Germany for England in the summer of 2022. He’s left records aplenty in ruins – but who joins him as the eight youngest players to hit the 300-goal mark?

Lukaku – who has turned out for the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Inter Milan throughout his career – achieved the milestone at 27 years and 277 days old; and, at the exact same age, Maldives international Ali Ashfaq also hit the 300-goal mark while playing for New Radiant.

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Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi now occupy the top two spots on the list of players with the most international goals.

Scoring in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Granada in 2012, now-Al-Nassr man Ronaldo – one of the fastest players in football history – hit the mark at the age of 27 years and 79 years old. His namesake, Ronaldo Nazario, managed to hit the milestone in 2003. R9’s compatriot Neymar, known for his trickery and flair, was also a perennial goalscorer – and that’s proven by the fact that he’s the fourth-quickest player to the 300-goal tally.

Lionel Messi, from the start of his career at Barcelona to the twilight period of his career at Inter Miami, has been a sharpshooter in front of goal – and the World Cup winner’s record (300 goals by 25 years and 125 days of age) makes him the third-youngest player in the 21st century to reach the milestone.

Haaland, as mentioned, at the age of 24 years and 240 days old, managed to do so at the age of 24 years and 340 days old. Kylian Mbappe – who swapped Paris Saint-Germain for Real Madrid in the summer of 2024 – reached the 300-goal milestone while plying his trade for France. Aged 24 years and 333 days old, he scored in his nation’s 14-0 win over Gibraltar.

All statistics per IFFHS – correct as of 28/06/2025