Manchester City winger Leroy Sané has set a new record as the fastest player in the EPL. The 21-year-old German was clocked at 22.05 mph during City’s 1-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday. It was the highest speed recorded since Opta began keeping such stats for the English Premier League.
Sané’s electric pace passed the previous record, set by Jamie Vardy during the 2015-16 season.
In comparison, the fastest player in the NFL last season (2016) was Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill, who reached 23.24 mph during a kickoff return. Although American football players aren't typically running with a ball at their feet. Usain Bolt’s fastest recorded speed was 27.8 mph. That mark was the fastest recorded human foot speed, set in Berlin in 2009.
Manchester City has three of the fastest players in the EPL. Right back Kyle Walker is among the top 15 with a top speed of 21.89 mph while Raheem Sterling is close behind at 21.77 mph. That speed has helped the Citizens race to the top of the Premier League table with a league-leading 22 goals scored, including three goals from Sané himself.
Walker was not pleased with being rated behind Sané and Sterling in FIFA 18’s speed ratings and challenged the two to a 100-meter race, to which Sané responded: “He's faster than me? Maybe if you have to run for one year he's faster than me!” Sané leads the trio with a rating of 94 followed by Sterling (93) and Walker (90). They're definitely all faster than this goalie.
In the spirit of football races, here’s a wonderfully gratuitous video of soccer players racing each other on the pitch.