CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
UEFA reveal list of the fastest players in the 2022-23 Champions League
Real Madrid star Fede Valverde and former Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembélé feature in the top 11, headed by a Canadian international.
The 2022-23 Champions League may have ended in severe disappointment for the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Barcelona, but they did at least make some kind of mark on the competition (not that it will be of much consolation to them). UEFA’s technical report on last season’s competition has revealed that Canada international Alphonso Davies, who moved from MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps to Germany in 2019, recorded the fastest sprint of any player ahead of The Blues’ big-money signing Mykhailo Mudryk, whose top speed was actually recorded while playing for Shakhtar Donetsk, and Ousmane Dembélé, who recently swapped Barça for Paris Saint-Germain.
How fast is the Champions League’s fastest player?
Davies was clocked sprinting at 37.1 kilometres per hour (around 23.1 mph) in Bayern’s group game away to Inter at San Siro, in which he helped his side to an impressive 2-0 victory. The Bavarians stormed through a group containing the Nerazzuri and Barça, winning every game, but were easily defeated by eventual winners Manchester City in the quarter-finals.
The Canadian was comfortably quicker Mudryk and Dembélé, who couldn’t be separated. The Ukrainian’s form in the group stage for Shakhtar earned a January switch to Chelsea, where he has so far flattered to deceive. The winger hit 36.6 km/h in the game away to Scottish champions Celtic, which he scored the equalising goal in.
Dembélé and Valverde represent Barcelona and Real Madrid
Dembélé, meanwhile, endured a frustrating season, lighting up some games with his pace and trickery but missing a chunk of the campaign through injury. Despite Barça coach Xavi Hernández’s desire to keep him in Catalonia, the winger has opted to return home to France to play for Paris Saint-Germain, who were able to sign him for just €50 million due to a clause in his contract.
Other notable players on the list include Real Madrid’s all-action midfield Fede Valverde and new Liverpool signing Dominik Szoboszlai, who has started the season as a first pick in Jürgen Klopp’s midfield.
The 11 fastest players in the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League
Player | Club | Speed |
---|---|---|
Alphonso Davies | Bayern Munich | 37.1 km/h |
Mykhailo Mudryk | Shakhtar Donetsk/Chelsea | 36.6 km/h |
Ousmane Dembélé | Barcelona | 36.6 km/h |
Rafael Leão | AC Milan | 36.5 km/h |
Gabriel Verón | Porto | 36.4 km/h |
Fede Valverde | Real Madrid | 36.3 km/h |
Nuno Taveres | Marseille | 36.2 km/h |
Moussa Diaby | Bayer Leverkusen | 36.1 km/h |
Karim Adeyemi | Borussia Dortmund | 36.1 km/h |
Rafa Silva | Benfica | 35.9 km/h |
Dominik Szoboszlai | RB Leipzig | 35.9 km/h |