Fastest Football Players in the World in 2024 (Updated)

Football's always been about speed, stamina, and skill. In the age of the modern athlete, fitness levels and technical ability have never been better. The old mantra that you cannot teach speed has never been truer. There is no substitute for the raw pace of a fast striker. Nothing terrifies footballers like a pacey winger, weaving and jinking while running flat out at defenders. 

Raw pace helps an attacker break away from the chasing defenders, latching on to through balls and finishing counter-attacks. Wingers must be quick because a slow winger is ineffective. Wings flying down the touchline, running at back-peddling defenders, and turning them inside out before ghosting past them, is one of the most exciting spectacles in football. 

Football players either have pace or not. Forwards need to be quick, especially in the modern game. Gone are the big, cumbersome target men of the eighties and nineties, who lurked in the box waiting for the wingers and playmakers to provide a pass or ball to head. Many of the fastest players in history do not make many rankings because players’ speed has only recently been measured. 

Even Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi do not have definitive data because the data was not available early in their careers. So, who is the quickest footballer on the planet? SportsBoom has compiled a list of the fastest football players in the world. Many names on the list for the fastest football player in the 2023/24 season are surprising, compared to other speed merchants, and best players in the world.

Mohamed Salah//Getty Images

The Fastest Players Are Often the Best Players in the World

The best forwards in football are always quick. ‘Original’ Ronaldo had pace and power. Cristiano Ronaldo’s speed and trickery bamboozled defenders. His pace was so terrifying, that defenders fell over as they passed them. Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka, two of the best right wingers in football, never mind the English Premier League, are blitz. 

The world's best left wingers also have pace. Mikel Oyarzabal, Vinícius Júnior, Rafael Leão, and Luis Díaz are known to turn defenders inside out with the speed of their jinking runs. Oyarzabal had an incredible UEFA UERO 2024 with Spain. His eighty-sixth-minute UERO 2024 final-winning strike confirmed Spain as one of the greatest football teams in history. La Roja lifted their fourth UEFA European Championship after beating England 2-1 in Germany. 

Oyarzabal reached a top speed of 32.10 km/h at the Euros, which is surprising because he looked faster on television. Leão has a top speed of 35.40 km/h at AC Milan. Díaz recorded a fastest speed of 33.10 km/h at Liverpool. Spanish La Liga sensation Vinícius Júnior is the quickest player in La Liga. His speed, creativity, and goal-scoring are reasons the Brazilian is one of the best left wingers in the world. The Brazilian ran a top speed of 36 km/h in the 2023/24 La Liga season.

Vinícius had an incredible season with Real Madrid. Vini Jr. finished the 2023/24 European season as the highest-scoring left winger in the world. Oyarzabal finished second. Leão was a close third in the goals and assists rankings. Díaz has started the 2024/25 season with a bang, scoring multiple goals for club and country. The Columbia and Liverpool flyer is scoring for fun. He ended in the top five highest goal-scoring left wings last season.

In 2020, Alphonso Davies reached a top speed of 36.51 km/h for Bayern Munich against Werder Bremen. Davies set the record for the fastest sprint in the German Bundesliga since the statistic was first recorded in the 2013/14 season. Bayern won their eighth Bundesliga title in a row after the 1-0 victory over Bremen.

Thierry Henry and Cristiano Zanetti//Getty Images

Fastest Players in the English Premier League 

Thierry Henry is said to be one of the fastest players in English Premier League history. Henry reached a top speed of 39.20 km/h in 1998. Fast forward two decades and no player has recorded a faster top speed than Henry. Erling Haaland has a deceptive pace. His ability to drive at defenders and go past them has seen him win back-to-back Golden Boots. His top speed was measured at 36.22 km/h against Brighton & Hove Albion in the 2022/23 EPL season.

Haaland, Bukayo Saka, and Mo Salah are also the best strikers in the Premier League. Saka’s ability to score goals took Arsenal to the brink of the title and earned him the PFA ‘Young Player of the Year’ award in 2022/23. In the same season, Haaland won the ‘Premier League Young Player of the Year’ award. Salah’s quickest speed was 36.60 km/h in the 2012/22 campaign. Anthony Gordon ran faster than all of them. 

Gordon recorded a speed of 36.68 km/h in the 2023/24 EPL season. This makes him faster than Haaland, Salah, and Saka. Adama Traore is no slouch. The Spanish international hit a top speed of 36.60 km/h, equalling Salah’s fastest run in 2022, but slower than Gordon. However, the Newcastle winger did not reach the quickest speed by a forward in the 2023/24 EPL season. Chiedozie Ogbene recorded the fastest speed in last season’s EPL. The Fulham winger notched 36.93 km/h against Luton Town in 2023/24. 

Chiedozie Ogbene and Kaine Kesler//Getty Images

Fastest Defenders in the World 

All great defenders have speed to burn. Speed helps snuff out attacks or get them back into position following a turnover and counter-attack. Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Dani Alves had gas. The three Brazilians were among the fastest players in the world during their careers. Carlos had speed and one of the fastest shots in football. Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Virgil van Dijk are quick, which helps them get back to defend counterattacks and cut off passes through the midfield.

Micky van de Ven clocked the fastest-ever speed in the Premier League in 2024. Van de Ven hit a top speed of 37.38 km/h in a 3-2 win for Tottenham Hotspur against Brentford on 31 January 2024. The Dutchman currently ranks No. 1 as the fastest player on the planet this season. He is one of eight Premier League players on this list, with one player each from the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 making the top 10. 

The best defenders in the world are fast. In the modern game, fullbacks are as quick as wingers, and they have changed the game and how managers set up tactically. Speed is one of the great tangibles that has always set footballers apart. Walker and Alexander-Arnold are as quick, but not as quick as Haaland, Saka, and Salah, the fastest players in the Premier League. 

Alexander-Arnold had a top speed of 32 km/h at the 2024 EUROS. Van Dijk, who always looks like he’s gliding, reached a top speed of 34.5 km/h during the 2019/19 UEFA Champions League season. He ran faster than Walker, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappé that season.

Gareth Bale had wheels. The former Tottenham Hotspur fullback was converted to a winger at Real Madrid. Bale was so good, he played as an attacking forward, and he scored some of the most iconic goals at Spurs and Real Madrid. Bale’s top-recorded speed was 36.89 km/h in 2014. Another defender with jet shoes is Antonio Rüdiger. The German centre half clocked 37.7 km/h for Chelsea during the 2021/22 EPL season.

During that same season, Salah recorded his top speed (mentioned above). Ibrahima Konate, the Liverpool centre half, notched an astonishing 36.20 km/h in the same year. Walker set the top speed in the Premier League in the 2022/23 campaign. The Manchester City defender’s top speed (37.31 km/h) came against Everton in May 2023. This makes Walker the second-fastest Premier League player in history, and the fastest-ever defender in England's top flight.

How Fast is Kylian Mbappé?

Mbappe Kylian//Getty Images

To add context to Mickey van de Ven’s rapid pace, let’s compare the Spurs defender to Kylian Mbappé. The Frenchman reached a top speed of 38 km/h for Paris Saint Germain during a 50-meter sprint in a Ligue 1 match in 2018/19. This feat made Mbappé the fastest player in Ligue 1 that season. Mbappé’s speed highlights how fast Van de Ven can run, especially for a defender. 

Mbappé is not only one of the fastest forwards in the world, he is one of the highest-paid players in the UEFA Champions League. Surprisingly, Mbappé, Walker, Haaland, Salah, Saka, or Vini Jr. did not make the top 10 fastest players in the world list in 2024. They are, however, quicker than Messi and Ronaldo. Nine of the ten quickest footballers in 2024 play in the Premier League. This is how they compare to the game’s best players. 

Who Are the Top 10 Fastest Players in the World in 2023/24 Season?

1. Micky van de Ven, Tottenham v Brentford

Known for his speed, Van de Van notched an incredible top speed of 37.38 km/h, the highest speed by a player in England's top flight since records began in 2020. Van de Ven's time is even more remarkable because the flying Dutchman ran 0.45 km/h quicker than the fastest speed recorded by second-placed Chiedozie Ogbene. 

2. Chiedozie Ogbene, Fulham v Luton 

Luton Town forward Ogbene reached 36.93 km/h against Fulham. The 26-year-old ranks second on this list, only 0.07 km/h faster than Pedro Neto in fourth. Ogbene is technically a wing-back, but he fell short of reaching 37km/h when he came on as a substitute in the 1-0 defeat at Craven Cottage in September 2023. 

3. Anthony Elanga, Tottenham Hotspur v Nottingham Forest

Anthony Elanga is quick. The former Manchester United forward has been leaving defenders trailing in his wake in the 2024/25 Premier League campaign. Elanga clocked the third-fastest speed in the EPL for Nottingham Forest against Spurs in April 2024. The speedster reached 36.91 km/h, which is a fraction slower than Ogbene.

4. Pedro Neto, Luton v Wolves 

Former Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Neto is no slouch. The Portugal international clocked his fastest-ever speed of 36.86 km/h against Luton in a 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road in September 2023. Neto is now playing his trade for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. 

5. Jakub Moder, Sheffield United v Brighton & Hove Albion

Jakub Moder put on his after-burners playing for Brighton & Hove Albion. Moder recorded 36.84 km/h versus Sheffield United in February 2024. The Polish international registered the quickest speed for a midfielder in the Premier League in the 2023/24 season. 

6. Dominik Szoboszlai, Wolves v Liverpool 

Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai sits fourth on this list of fastest footballers in the world in 2024. The Hungarian ran his quickest this season versus Wolves, with a top speed of 36.76 km/h, in the Reds' 3-1 away victory at Molineux Stadium in September 2023. 

7. Dara O'Shea Burnley v Crystal Palace

Burnley defender Dara O'Shea is quick. O'Shea is now the second-fastest defender in Premier League history after blitzing his way to 36.73 km/h in a 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Turf Moor in November 2023. O'Shea overtook former Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger's top speed of 36.70 km/h in the 2020/21 Premier League season versus Brighton & Hove Albion. 

8. Anthony Gordon, Newcastle v Burnley 

Newcastle United forward Anthony Gordon is enjoying his best season in 2024. He is one of the quickest players in the Premier League. Gordon reached his top speed of 36.68 km/h against Burnley in Newcastle's 2-0 win at St. James' Park in September 2023.

9. Amadou Onana, Everton v Liverpool 

Amadou Onana put on his jet shoes against Liverpool in the Blues’ 2-0 Merseyside derby defeat at Anfield in October 2023. The Everton midfielder clocked 36.65 km/h during the derby. But it was not enough for his team to avoid another loss against their arch-rivals across Stanley Park. Onana left Everton as fast as he could run, signing for Aston Villa in the off-season. 

10. Eren Dinkçi, FC Heidenheim 1846

Eren Dinkçi is the first non-Premier League player to make the top 10 fastest footballers in the world 2024 list after racing to a top speed of 36.41 km/h this season. The FC Heidenheim striker is the quickest player in Germany's Bundesliga. The 22-year-old dual German-Turkish national, though not prolific in front of goal, terrorises defenders with his pace. 

How Fast Can Lionel Messi Run?

Cristiano Ronaldo and  Lionel Messi//Getty Images

Lionel Messi ran his fastest speed ever at Barcelona, clocking 32.50 km/h in 2017. Had data been collected during his early years, it is almost certain, he ran faster. But the Argentina legend has never been known for express pace. His speed with the ball at his feet, while dribbling at defenders, his creative ability, and goal scoring set him apart from every footballer on the planet.