10 Fastest Football Players In The World

Pace is at an all-time high in terms of importance on the pitch. With all the talk of philosophies, controlling the ball, making NFL-like designed plays, the factor of speed increased in importance, not decreased. Sure, few backlines are now as disorganized for the speedsters to wreak havoc in back-and-forths between boxes, but speed is king regardless. So there is a massive correlation between the fastest football players in the world and the best football players in the world.

While all the other lists for the fastest footballers list their individual fastest sprints, we deemed this not worthy of mentioning as the speeds usually differ in just decimal points. Mostly coming around the 36 kilometres per hour, or 35.

Furthermore, just because a player recorded one fast sprint, doesn’t make his speed relevant enough for him to be regarded as one of the fastest footballers in the world.

It’s one thing to be fast, a second thing to utilize that on the football pitch and make it one of your greatest strengths. That’s who we are looking at, the best of the fastest.

Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain & Morocco) - wing-back

Not only does Achraf Hakimi have a lot of fast-twitch muscles, but he also has quite long legs, making him a world-class sprinter. Who happens to be a great footballer, as well. Paris Saint-Germain made quite the coup when they captured Hakimi on a massive deal, as he is not the only PSG player on this list. Making The Saints arguably the biggest speed threat in the game of football overall.

Even though he is a wing-back, the 25-year-old Achraf has made a nearly equal number of touches in the middle third of the pitch, compared to the attacking, last third of the pitch. Far greater than the number of his touches in the defensive zone. His overall career take-on success rate stands high at 52.3%, with him having a weaker 2022/2023 season in that regard that brought on the average.

Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain & France) - forward

Probably THE fastest football player in the world. Kylian Mbappe's speed is so high that it even made problems for himself. The PSG star needed to learn how to deaccelerate when he ventures into the box, because his conversion rate was lower when he rushed in at full rate. Even though he might be considered the king of take-ons in modern football, the reality is that his success percentage rate is slightly lower than the club teammate Hakimi, standing at 51%.

However, Mbappe is doing it quite more, having attempted to beat his man 1,272 times in his career. Interestingly, he also had a bad 2022/2023 season when it comes to that stat point. Either way, when Kylian Mbappe turns to face the goal, the defence and the whole terraces of fans are in panic as speed remains the World Cup winner's biggest weapon.

Erling Haaland (Manchester City & Norway) - forward

Showing someone the photo and the height of Erling Haaland five years ago, before his boom, telling them this 194 centimetres tall player would be one of the fastest men in football would raise eyebrows. Yet it's undeniable at this point. Even though he is regarded as a box-dweller and a poacher, Erling Haaland's stratospheric rise at Borussia Dortmund was boosted by his viral sprints at the terrified Bundesliga backlines.

But it is true that Erling doesn't run as much with the ball at his feet, he only has 197 take-ons attempted, finishing 50.8% of them. Yet he is a nightmare to deal with when it comes to his off-the-ball movement in part because of his speed. The Norweigan 23-year-old's long legs don't have issues with both producing power for sprints, as well as staying balanced whilst wrestling with defenders in stride.

Kyle Walker (Manchester City & England) - full-back

No man in football is probably more prideful about the speed of his stride than Kyle Walker. While he has grown into a fully developed, well-rounded defender, it's still safe to say that pace is his main weapon. Pep Guardiola could rely on the Englishman to annul the threat of Vinicius in the matches against Real Madrid and hence could dictate the flow of the game he wanted. Few defenders could've achieved that.

While some players could defeat Walker on shorter distances, no one can hold up to him on the length of half a pitch. Well, maybe Hakimi. But at the age of 33, Walker's speed didn't abandon him and he recorded a sprint of 37.31 km/h during one match of the 2022/2023 season!

Darwin Nunez (Liverpool & Uruguay) - forward

Another unlikely suspect for the list of the fastest football players in the world as Darwin Nunez is a tall centre-forward. Yet the impact of his speed is undeniable and vital in both attack and defence. As Liverpool presses from the moment it loses the ball, Nunez's long strides towards the ball-playing defenders cause panic. While he provides both counter-attacking options besides being a traditional goal-scorer. The 24-year-old's sheer speed is staggering, with the best sprint of the previous season standing at 36.53 km/h.

Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich & Germany) - winger

Not only is Leroy Sane fast, but he also looks undeniably light on his feet. As he is gliding on the grass. He often had in-club races with another member of the top 10 speedsters, Walker. It was alleged that Sane had a better shorter dash. Now, at Bayern Munich, his fastest sprint was recorded at 36.3 km/h in the 2022/2023 season. However, the winger doesn't get that many options to fully spread his wings as teams usually fall back in front of FCB. Still, the blistering speed of Sane is what makes him an elite player primarily.

Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich & Canada) - full-back

In the top three of the Bundesliga fastest sprint rankings for the 2023/2024 season, and the previous one, Alphonso Davies makes a stunning tandem with Leroy Sane on the left flank. If the winger plays there, if he's on the right wing, well the defenders have to watch for two lightnings coming from two both sides. With an amazing success rate in his take-ons, at 61.6%, Davies knows how to utilize his speed in order to beat his man and unleash a cross.

Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid & Brazil) - winger

Vinicius is only 23 but has already faced adversity in his career, when even his colleagues mocked them. He was regarded as nothing more than a speed merchant by his fiercest critics. Yet the Brazilian has turned his trajectory around and has shown that pace is just one of the tools in his toolbox. Even though he is younger than Mbappe by two years, Vinicius has already a similar number of take-ons attempted, at 1,116! With a lower success rate though, at 44.6%, proving his weaker start at Real Madrid.

Still, Vini's speed and its usefulness are undeniable, as teams often have to make tactical adjustments in order to compete with the threat that the winger is speed-wise. The next entry knows a thing or two about it.

Rafael Leao (Milan & Portugal) - winger

If his other attributes - like finishing or composure - were near the level of his speed, Rafael Leao might be talked about like a Portuguese Mbappe. The 24-year-old can improve in this manner of course, and perhaps exactly by copying the PSG star and slowing down a bit. Yet, when those long legs start going, it must be hard to call them back. Playing mostly in the much slower, more composed Serie A, Leao has a take-on success rate of 53.2%, with 663 attempted throughout his career.

Mykhaylo Mudryk (Chelsea & Ukraine) - winger

With a price tag that passed the €100,000,000 mark, a player must possess at least one otherwordly trait. For Mykhaylo Mudryk, that superhero-like characteristic is speed. Not only is the Ukranian quick on the start, but he also has a long stride that makes running half the pitch look effortless. In his debut season, he was already in the top three sprints of the PL, with 36.63 km/h as his top speed. Mudryk is still adjusting to the change in the quality of opposition, so his take-on numbers aren't great, but will be key in the youngster fulfilling his potential. Not just being one of the fastest football players in the world, but one of the best.