MADRID (AP) — Kylian Mbappé's latest impressive scoring run with Real Madrid has brought up comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo.
After Mbappé scored his 23rd goal in 22 Spanish league games in Madrid's 2-0 win at Valencia on Sunday, coach Álvaro Arbeloa said the France striker could be well on his way to matching the success of Ronaldo at the Spanish powerhouse.
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Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, left, celebrates with Alvaro Carreras after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, left, celebrates with Alvaro Carreras after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe reacts during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)
“What Cristiano achieved seemed extraterrestrial, something impossible to match and no one could come close,” Arbeloa said. "Mbappé has a long way to go because Cristiano was here for many years, but he has the conditions to follow in his footsteps, and you never know if he’ll be able to surpass him. But if anyone can, it’s Kylian.”
The 41-year-old Ronaldo, currently playing in Saudi Arabia, played for Madrid from 2009-18, breaking nearly every club record.
The 27-year-old Mbappé joined the Spanish powerhouse last season and quickly matched some of the numbers of the Portugal star. Mbappé scored 59 goals in 2025 to equal's Ronaldo's club-record tally in 2013.
At the time, Mbappé called Ronaldo his “idol, the best player in the history of Real Madrid and a reference point in world soccer. It’s an honor for me.”
Mbappé started this year on a roll and with even better numbers, having scored nine goals in seven matches. He needed 11 games to reach nine goals last year. He has 43 goals in 35 appearances for club and country this season.
“It’s a great fortune, because right now he’s the best player in the world with what he’s proving day in and day out, game after game," Arbeloa said of Mbappé.
Arbeloa, who took over the club's helm this year to replace Xabi Alonso, was a former Madrid defender who was a teammate of Ronaldo at Madrid, playing six seasons with him from 2009-2016.
Mbappé’s France and Madrid teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni also was among those saying Mbappé has what it takes to surpass Ronaldo’s numbers with Madrid, according to Spanish media.
Ronaldo left the Spanish club with 451 goals in 438 competitive appearances.
Television cameras caught Mbappé criticizing the officiating crew in the game against Valencia, with the France striker apparently using the word “clown” to talk about one referee. Mbappé seemed to be looking for an explanation for an offside call but the referee didn't appear to want to talk to the player.
Mbappé's Madrid has won seven in a row in the Spanish league and sits one points behind leader Barcelona after 23 matches. It will face José Mourinho's Benfica in the first knockout phase of the Champions League.
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Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, left, celebrates with Alvaro Carreras after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe, left, celebrates with Alvaro Carreras after scoring his side's second goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)
Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe reacts during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valencia and Real Madrid in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Macia)
CAIRO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump's appeal to China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain and others to send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe" brought no commitments on Sunday as oil prices soar during the Iran war.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told NBC he has been “in dialogue” with some of the countries, and said he expected China “will be a constructive partner" in reopening the strait through which one-fifth of global oil exports normally pass.
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told NBC that Tehran has been “approached by a number of countries" seeking safe passage for their vessels, "and this is up to our military to decide.” He said a group of vessels from “different countries” had been allowed to pass, without providing details.
Iran has said the strait is open to all except the United States and its allies.
"We don’t see any reason why we should talk with Americans” about finding a way to end the war, Araghchi added, noting that Israel and the U.S. started the fighting with coordinated attacks on Feb. 28 during indirect U.S.-Iran talks. The talks focused on Iran's nuclear program, and Araghchi said Tehran had "no plan to recover” enriched uranium that is under rubble following U.S. and Israeli attacks last year.
“We are intensively looking with our allies at what can be done, because it’s so important that we get the strait reopened,” U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News, adding that ending the war is the “best and surest” way to do it.
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it “takes note” of Trump’s call and that it “will closely coordinate and carefully review” the situation with the U.S.
Expectations are high that Trump will ask Japan directly when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets him on Thursday at the White House.
There was no immediate response from China.
France previously said it is working with countries — President Emmanuel Macron mentioned partners in Europe, India and other Asian ones — on a possible international mission to escort ships through the strait but has stressed it must be when “the circumstances permit,” when fighting has subsided.
Meanwhile, emergency oil stocks “will soon start flowing to global markets,” the International Energy Agency said Sunday, describing the collective action to lower prices “by far the largest ever.”
It updated last week’s announcement of 400 million barrels to nearly 412 million. Asian member countries plan to release stocks “immediately,” and reserves from Europe and the Americas will be released “from the end of March.”
Gulf Arab states reported new missile and drone attacks a day after Iran called for the evacuation of three major ports in the United Arab Emirates — the first time it has threatened a neighboring country’s non-U.S. assets. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE said they were working to intercept projectiles.
Iran has accused the U.S. of launching Friday's strikes on Kharg Island, home to Iran’s primary oil terminal, from the UAE, without providing evidence.
U.S. Central Command said it had no response to Iran’s claim, and Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, rejected it. Gulf countries that host U.S. bases have denied allowing their land or airspace to be used for military operations against Iran.
Iran has threatened to attack the region’s U.S.-linked “oil, economic and energy infrastructures” if the Islamic Republic’s oil infrastructure is hit.
Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman during the war, causing significant damage and rattling economies even as most are intercepted. Tehran says it targets U.S. assets, even as Iranian strikes are reported at civilian sites such as airports and oil fields.
Iranian strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in Gulf countries, most of them migrant workers.
In Iran, the International Committee for the Red Cross said more than 1,300 people have been killed. Iran’s Health Ministry said 223 women and 202 children are among the dead, according to Mizan, the judiciary’s official news agency.
Iran’s government on Sunday showed journalists buildings damaged by strikes in Tehran on Friday. A police station was hit and surrounding buildings were damaged. Some apartments’ outer walls had been stripped away.
“God had mercy on all of us,” said Elham Movagghari, a resident.
In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire and more have been injured, including three on Sunday. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, six in a plane crash in Iraq last week.
At least 820 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to its Health Ministry, since Iran-backed Hezbollah started hitting Israel and Israel responded with strikes and sent additional troops into southern Lebanon.
In just 10 days, more than 800,000 people — nearly one out of every seven residents of Lebanon — have been displaced, just over a year since the last conflict uprooted over a million Lebanese.
In Beirut, displaced families fixed tents battered by wind and rain. Fadi Younes, displaced from the southern suburbs, told The Associated Press that his mattresses and blankets were soaked.
“We don’t know where this will end,” he said.
In the southern suburb of Haret Hreik, there was scarcely a person in sight when crews arrived to clear the streets of rubble.
Israel said it continued to strike Iran. Iran fired missiles toward Israel.
Several strikes hit central Israel and the Tel Aviv area, where they caused damage at 23 sites and sparked a small fire. Magen David Adom, Israel’s rescue service, released video showing a large crater in a street and shrapnel damage to an apartment building.
Multi-site impacts have become a hallmark of the war, as Israel’s military says Iran is firing cluster bombs that can evade some air defenses and scatter submunitions across multiple locations.
Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank, and Frankel from Jerusalem. Associated Press journalists Sally Abou AlJoud and Fadi Tawil in Beirut, John Leicester in Paris and Tia Goldenberg in Washington contributed to this report.
People gather outside an apartment building damaged by an Iranian missile strike in Bnei Brak, Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
People shout slogans during an anti U.S. and Israeli rally outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, March 15, 2026. The sign reads in Turkish: "Leave NATO, close the bases." (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Heavy rain falls over tents sheltering people displaced by Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon and Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, along the Beirut waterfront in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Volunteers clean debris from a residential building damaged when a nearby police station was hit Friday in a U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A cargo ship sails in the Arabian Gulf towards Strait of Hormuz in United Arab Emirates, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
Firefighters extinguish fire at a site damaged during an Iranian missile strike in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Volunteers clean debris from a residential building damaged when a nearby police station was hit Friday in a U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Home Front Command officer works at an apartment damaged after an Iranian strike in Bnei Brak, Israel, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Smoke rises from the rubble of buildings destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man photographs the rubble of buildings destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Sunday, March 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Smoke rises from the U.S. embassy building in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Jabar)
Mourners react during the funeral ceremony for Gen. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Defense Council and a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader who was killed in a strike, at the courtyard of the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Two men ride their motorbike past a billboard of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Fire and plumes of smoke rise from an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)
A man chants slogan while the body of Gen. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Defense Council and a senior adviser to the Supreme Leader who was killed in a strike, is being buried at the courtyard of the Imamzadeh Saleh shrine in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
