The 10 fastest players in the 2022/23 Champions League, ft. Mudryk & Leao | OneFootball

Many footballers are known for their blistering speed, but only one can rightfully call themselves the fastest player in Europe.

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A new list has emerged showing the 10 fastest players in last season's Champions League and it's fair to say it's full of surprises.

Indeed, though there are some names that the majority of football fans would expect to see, a plethora of big-name speedsters don't make the cut.

To those who watched England's World Cup quarter-final against France in 2022 or Manchester City's Champions League tie vs PSG, you'll remember Kylian Mbappe's fascinating tussle with Kyle Walker.

But while both are somewhat renowned for their speed, neither player features on this particular list.

Erling Haaland or Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior.

10 Dominik Szoboszlai - 35.9 km\h

Good news Liverpool fans – it turns out your latest signing is absolutely rapid.

While the Hungarian is perhaps best known for his creativity and free-kick ability, it turns out he can cover ground seriously quickly when needed.

One of Liverpool's biggest concerns last season was their ageing midfield and the arrival of a young, rapid, midfielder, with the ability to control the game will no doubt excite Reds fans.

9 Moussa Diaby - 36.1 km/h

According to this list, Diaby is actually quicker than French compatriot Mbappe. Who would've thought?

The 24-year-old winger has been one of Bayer Leverkusen's standout players since joining in 2019 – scoring 49 goals in 172 games so far for the club.

While FIFA stats aren't always an accurate reflection of a player's statistics, Diaby's 93 pace on FIFA 23 does seem pretty bang on in this case.

Diaby has recently been linked with a move to Aston Villa, with Unai Emery reportedly willing to smash Villa's transfer record to sign the forward.

8 Karim Adeyemi - 36.1 km\h

Back in 2019, L'Equipe predicted Adeyemi to be one of the world's best players. Though he's far from world-class just yet, the Borussia Dortmund star does look quite the talent.

The 21-year-old showed off his speed against Chelsea in the Champions League last season, scoring an outstanding solo goal in the Champions League last 16 first leg.

Afterwards, he revealed that Fufu, an African dish made from boiled cassava, plantain and yams, is what makes him fast. We'll take his word for it.

7 Nuno Tavares - 36.2 km/h

Tavares was on loan at Marseille from Arsenal last year and showed glimpses of his potential.

Though the full-back has often been criticised for his defending, there's no denying he's got serious pace.

The Portuguese star is still only 23 years old and it's far too soon to write off his career at Arsenal.

However, Tavares faces fierce competition with Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko well above him in the hierarchy at the moment.

6 Federico Valverde - 36.3 km\h

Valverde was utilised centrally during his early days at Real Madrid but has operated successfully out wide under Carlo Ancelotti.

It's no surprise given the Uruguayan has an abundance of pace and can easily coast past defenders on the wing.

Since making the switch to playing further forward, Valverde has turned into a fairly prolific goalscorer at Madrid – netting 12 times in all competitions last year.

And at just 24 years of age, he's only going to improve.

5 Gabriel Veron - 36.4 km/h

The Brazilian winger only joined Porto in 2022 and has played sporadically since his arrival.

But while he's scored just once for the club so far, his turn of speed is something to behold.

Interestingly, though Veron is Brazilian, his name is inspired by Argentine icon Juan Sebastien Veron.

While Veron has some way to go to match the achievements of the former Man United man, he does appear to have a bright future ahead.

4 Rafael Leao - 36.5 km\h

Leao was one of the best wingers in Europe last season and helped AC Milan reach the Champions League semi-finals.

The Portuguese star scored 16 goals in all competitions, having been voted the Serie A Most Valuable Player in 2021-22.

Aside from his speed, Leao is also an exceptional dribbler and ranked third among European players for completed dribbles in 2021-22, behind Vinicius and Allan Saint-Maximin.

3 Ousmane Demble - 36.6 km\h

Dembele was signed for an astronomical £120m by Barcelona from Dortmund in 2017 and there's no question he's failed to live up to the price tag.

The Frenchman has shown glimpses of his ability but has suffered a number of injuries and been desperately inconsistent when he has featured.

That being said, injuries have clearly not made Dembele any slower. Indeed, the winger clocked the third-quickest top speed in the Champions League last season.

At 26 years old, there's still time for Dembele to turn his fortunes around, but he'll have to show more than just bursts of speed.

2 Mykhailo Mudryk - 36.6 km\h

Mudryk is another player who arrived for huge money and has so far yet to live up to his billing.

The Ukrainian is yet to score a goal for Chelsea, though he did impress at the recent U21 Euros.

Another positive for Chelsea is that Mudryk is one of the fastest footballers on the planet.

The winger seems to cover ground effortlessly and there are very few defenders on the planet that are able to catch up with him.

If the youngster can just find his shooting boots, perhaps he can prove to be a valuable asset for the Blues after all.

1 Alphonso Davies - 37.1 km\h

The award for the fastest player in the Champions League goes to the Bayern Munich defender.

Davies was initially signed by Bayern as a backup winger but has developed into one of the world's best full-backs.

He is already regarded as one of the greatest Canadian footballers ever and has a long way still to go in his career.