Who is the fastest football player? Unlike athletics which want to prove which man or woman is the fastest in the world, it is not as easy to judge football which player is the fastest. Data is the best way to judge which footballer is the fastest in the world as players do not compete in footraces against one another.
Research has found that modern-day footballers run up to 11 kilometres per match. Depending on position, the distance run can vary. According to analysis, central midfielders cover up to 11km while wingers and wide midfielders run about 10km. Strikers typically run up to 10 km during a game and defenders often run up to 10 km as well.
Outfield players often due to most running, but goalkeepers are not stationary. However, research has discovered that goalkeepers average up to five km per match. It is important for goalkeepers to be fit and the fact that they run up to five km a game shows just how in shape they are.
But who is the fastest football player? This is something that can change from year to year. In addition, data seems to differ from source to source. However, many sources believe that Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe is the world’s fastest football player. Mbappe was clocked at 33.1 km/h in the 2020-21 Champions League. On that night, Mbappe scored a brilliant hat-trick against Barcelona.
Despite being considered the fastest player in football, Mbappe was not the fastest man in the UEFA Champions League 2020-21 tournament. Who was the fastest football player? Surprisingly, it was Atalanta’s Hans Hateboer. The midfielder was clocked at 34.1 km/h in the Champions League. In Atalanta’s six games in the tournament, Hateboer racked up 64.4 km. That is over 10.7 km per match for the Atalanta player.
How did fast was Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi Neymar, and Erling Haaland in last season’s Champions League?
- Cristiano Ronaldo – 29.5 km/h
- Lionel Messi – 28.6 km/h
- Neymar – 32 km/h
- Erling Haaland – 31 km/h