Wrap your head around this one: Mohamed Salah is faster than the quickest Premier League player ever. Well, sort of.
That’s according to new data emerging from the Champions League, which says that the 33-year-old is speedier than Tottenham’s ultra-athletic Micky van de Ven so far this campaign.
Salah breaks comfortably into the top 15 fastest stars in the Champions League this campaign, but top spot goes to a striker who has previously been tracked by Manchester United.
Players’ top speeds are measured by GPS vests and UEFA share the rankings for the paciest men around the continent.
Liverpool and Tottenham have two stars in the top 15, while Chelsea fans can also get excited as one of their summer signings ranks seventh.
The fastest runner in the Champions League this season is Lois Openda, who has clocked in with a top speed of 36.2km/h on loan at Juventus from RB Leipzig.
Mohamed Salah, aged 33, is one of the fastest players in the Champions League this season
He has been quicker than Micky van de Ven, who is the fastest Premier League player ever
Juventus’ loanee forward Lois Openda leads the way with a rocket speed of 36.2km/h
He has reportedly been on the radar of clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool, and Aston Villa in the past. However, after a prolific few seasons for Vitesse, Lens, and Leipzig, he is yet to find the net this campaign.
In second place is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has notched a top speed of 35.8km/h at the grand age of 36 for Marseille.
The former Arsenal star has hit the ground running for Roberto De Zerbi’s side, hitting four goals in seven games. Perhaps that’s little surprise – in 2023-24 he scored 30 for them, before moving to the Saudi Pro League with Al-Qadsiah and bagging 21 last campaign.
In third place, it’s good news for Liverpool fans as Jeremie Frimpong has recorded a top speed of 35.6km/h.
The right-back has had a mixed start following his £29.5million switch from Bayer Leverkusen but he certainly seems to have rockets in his boots.
Lower down the list, Chelsea’s Pedro Neto claims seventh with a top speed of 34.9km/h.
A £54m signing from Wolves, Neto has quickly slotted into Enzo Maresca’s starting XI on either the left or right flank, and had a good game at the weekend as he scored and assisted against Nottingham Forest to help give Ange Postecoglou the boot.
In eighth, it’s newly minted England star Djed Spence. The Spurs left-back boasts a top speed of 34.5km/h and is, so far, the fastest player in his position so far across the continent’s elite tournament.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the second-quickest player in the competition aged 36
Jeremie Frimpong is the third-fastest player in the Champions League in a boost for Liverpool
Chelsea’s Pedro Neto, when he is not fooling around with cones, is the seventh-quickest
Newly capped England star Djed Spence comes in eighth on the left flank for Tottenham
Lower down, Mohamed Salah has bagged joint-10th for himself after clocking a top speed of 34.3km/h.
The Egyptian’s form has dropped off a cliff and he has been accused of losing his legs a bit, but this stat flies in the face of that narrative and suggests that he still has the afterburners to switch on when he needs them.
It helps him to beat Van de Ven, who settles for joint-14th alongside Villarreal’s Nicolas Pepe on 34.2km/h.
A couple of seasons ago, the Dutchman broke the record for the fastest speed in Premier League history when he zoomed along at 37.38km/h against Brentford.
Having that extra gear is hugely significant for beating the offside trap, making lung-busting runs from midfield, and catching a striker with a recovery run, but you might be surprised how little players actually sprint.
Many footballers spend less than one per cent of their time sprinting.
It is not an overly shared statistic, but for example, by March 25 last season, Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon had spent more time sprinting than anyone else in the Premier League, and he had only done it for 1.17 per cent of the time.
