In March, Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo published the results of a study commissioned by FIFA on the fastest players in the world.
Below are the results shared on Twitter.
The fastest players in the world pic.twitter.com/zUbOePfwnK
— FansAllStar Football (@FASfootball) January 6, 2014
The list is led by Equador midfielder Antonio Valencia, who clocked in at 35.1mph.
Soccer superstars Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi trail at #4 and #6 respectively, and here Arjen Robben clocks in at #9 with a speed of 30.4km/hr.
Perhaps most surprisingly, the oft-perceived to be flat-footed Rooney checks in at #7.
It’s worth noting that Theo Walcott’s time seems to be a source of conflict among various publishings of the study.
There tends to be two trends: the 32.7km/hr mark listed here, and what is supposedly the world record setting 35.7km/hr posted by publications such as the Dailymail.
Arjen Robben Breaks the Record?
In any case, Netherlands’ Arjen Robbin reportedly blasted this 35.7 mark with a 37km/hr sprint that led to a goal in the Netherland’s 5-1 victory over Spain earlier in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Footage of the speedster is shown above.
However unfortunately, the mark now appears to be false information started on Twitter, as FIFA officially clocks Robben at 31.03km/hour.
Still, not bad for the 30-year-old Dutchmen.
But for now at least, Walcott maintains his title as the fastest player in the world.
