Erling Haaland turns 21: Is striker the world’s fastest footballer?

There isn’t a club on the planet that wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to sign Erling Haaland.

Football fans often joke that the Borussia Dortmund striker, who turned 21 on July 21, is so good that he must have been made in a laboratory.

As well as being an unbelievable finisher - the Norwegian has scored an incredible 57 goals in 59 games for Dortmund - Haaland is also extremely powerful and remarkably fast, with or without the ball.

The young centre-forward is 6ft 4in tall - another physical attribute that makes him such a beast - but is undoubtedly one of the world’s quickest footballers.

Once Haaland gets going, there’s absolutely no stopping him.

Is Erling Haaland the Bundesliga's fastest player?

No player recorded a faster sprint time than Haaland in the Bundesliga last season. His 36.04 km/h (22.39 mph) dash against Stuttgart in April put him ahead of the likes of Marcus Thuram, Kingsley Coman and even Alphonso Davies, who is rapid.

How fast can Erling Haaland run?

One year earlier, in February 2020, Haaland ran so fast during a Champions League match against Paris Saint-Germain that he wasn’t far away from breaking the 60-metre world record.

After clearing a PSG corner with a header, Haaland sprinted one from end of the pitch to the other at breakneck speed.

Jadon Sancho had the ball as Dortmund launched a lightning-quick counter-attack but it was Haaland who stunned everyone with his frightening pace.

You can watch the clip here…

Just look at him go!

It later transpired that Haaland had covered 60 metres in just 6.64 seconds.

How close was Haaland to the 60-metre world record?

To put this into context: the men’s world record in the 60 metres is currently held by America’s Christian Coleman, who recorded a time of 6.34 seconds in February 2018.

Haaland’s time of 6.64 seconds would have put him through to the final of the men’s 60-metre race at the 2018 World Indoor Championship - although he would have finished in joint last place, admittedly.

Nevertheless, for a footballer to cover that speed in a match - especially with the kit he was wearing, the fact he was surrounded by teammates and opponents, and taking the wet, grassy surface into consideration - is still extraordinary.

Enter Giveaway

Is Erling Haaland faster than Kylian Mbappe?

Kylian Mbappe is widely regarded as the world’s fastest elite-level footballer at the moment, but Haaland must be at least on par with the French superstar.

who Chelsea are attempting to sign this summer, is simply built differently.

Haaland to Chelsea - Latest update (Football Terrace)

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Rob Swan

Interested in: Manchester United, Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane

Football writer for over a decade, childhood hero was Zinedine Zidane. Will always maintain Juan Sebastian Veron wasn't a total flop at Man Utd, and that Scholes > Gerrard and Lampard.