
One of the hottest properties in the whole of the soccer world, French megastar Kylian Mbappe is renowned for his speed and agility which make him such a formidable opponent for any defender.
But just how fast is Kylian Mbappe? We’ll be answering this question for you today as well as comparing the Frenchman to other speedy things in our world.
Kylian Mbappe’s recorded top speed is 38kph (23.6 mph), which makes him one of the fastest players of all time.
Mbappé’s Top Speed
Mbappé can consistently hit blistering speeds, both on and off the ball, and can regularly reach 30kph when sprinting without the ball at his feet. These are truly mind-boggling speeds that most soccer players could only dream of reaching.
In the 2020/21 season, Mbappé was ranked as the fastest soccer player in the world by local newspaper Le Figaro after recording a speed of 36kph in the build-up to his goal against PSG’s bitter rivals Marseille. However, since then Mbappé has now managed to go even faster.
In a recent match against Monaco, Mbappé hit a recorded speed of 38kph (23.6mph) following a rapid sprint from the halfway line as his team attacked the opposition goal. This move did not result in a goal like it did against Marseille, but it did earn the striker a new record that it seems only he can better at the moment.
The only other players that can be compared to Mbappé currently are Inaki Williams of Atletic Bilbao and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, now of Barcelona. Both players have managed to hit speeds of 35kph but have never managed to go faster than Mbappe’s latest record.
Is Mbappé Faster Than Usain Bolt?
Anyone that reaches the kind of speeds that Mbappé can is always likely to draw comparison’s to other fast people as well as other things from around the globe. In the modern day, the most obvious comparison to make is to the fastest man over 100 metres in history, the great Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
In his record-breaking sprint at the 2009 IAAF World Championships, Bolt hit an average speed of 37.5kph. This is of course lower than the speed Mbappé reached against Monaco, so does this mean that the Frenchman is faster than the greatest Olympic sprinter of all time?
The short answer to this is no he is not. The reason for this is that Mbappé can only hold these kind of speeds for a short period and trains to do just this. Soccer is a sport that relies on short bursts of speed rather than the continuous power needed to be an Olympic level sprinter.
If we compare the top speeds of Mbappe and Bolt – it’s not even close:
- Kylian Mbappe – Top Speed: 38kph (23.6mph)
- Usain Bolt – Top Speed: 43.99kph (27.33mph)
Bolt can carry these high speeds across both 100m and 200m sprints, as he simply has the ability to generate more power than Mbappé. If you were to place the two in a direct race in their prime, Bolt would still win with relative ease.
Could Mbappé Go Even Faster?
Of course he could! There are a number of reasons why we should expect the PSG man to break his own record in the years to come. The first is that Mbappé is yet to reach the prime years of his career, both physically and mentally.
At the age of just 23, the French youngster still has time to develop and refine his talent. Once he reaches the age of 25-28, the striker should be considered as in his ‘prime’ years as an athlete which in theory should mean that he is likely to be even faster than he is currently.
Outside of his physical attributes, there is an element of luck that is required for Mbappé to hit the kinds of speeds that we mentioned earlier. To begin with, he needs to deployed in both a position and formation that are tailored to utilise his speed.
At PSG he is now on a contract that has effectively made the Frenchmen the boss of the entire club, which allows Mbappé to have a say on who is employed by the club and how he is played. Had he made the anticipated move to Real Madrid in this transfer window, he may not have enjoyed the same level of freedom.
Finally, developments in technology can also help Mbappé go faster in the future. Like many top players in the world, Mbappé has a contract that makes him an official Nike athlete. This is an advantage for him as it allows him to wear the newest and lightest cleats that the American brand produces.
In theory at least, the lighter that Mbappé’s cleats are then the faster he should be able to go. When talking of speed’s this high, marginal gains are the most important aspect of improvement.
Now you know how fast Kylian Mbappé really is, as well as whether he could beat Usain Bolt in a footrace and whether he’ll go even faster one-day. Here’s to another record beating year for the fastest soccer player in the world.