Prepare to be amazed: Mohamed Salah has outpaced the fastest player in Premier League history. Well, sort of.

Recent data from the Champions League reveals that the 33-year-old Salah has surpassed the speed of Tottenham’s highly athletic Micky van de Ven in this season’s competition.

Salah comfortably ranks among the top 15 fastest players in the Champions League this season. However, the top spot is claimed by a striker who has previously been linked with Manchester United.

Both Liverpool and Tottenham boast two players each in the top 15, while Chelsea supporters have reason to celebrate as one of their summer acquisitions ranks seventh on the list.

Leading the pack as the fastest player in the Champions League this season is Lois Openda, who has reached a top speed of 36.2 km/h. Openda is currently on loan at Juventus from RB Leipzig.

Mohamed Salah, aged 33, is one of the fastest players in the Champions League this season 

He has been quicker than Micky van de Ven, who is the fastest Premier League player ever

Juventus’ loanee forward Lois Openda leads the way with a rocket speed of 36.2km/h

Openda has reportedly attracted interest from clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, and Aston Villa in the past. Despite his successful stints with Vitesse, Lens, and Leipzig, he is yet to score this season.

In second place is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has notched a top speed of 35.8km/h at the grand age of 36 for Marseille.  

The former Arsenal star has hit the ground running for Roberto De Zerbi’s side, hitting four goals in seven games. Perhaps that’s little surprise – in 2023-24 he scored 30 for them, before moving to the Saudi Pro League with Al-Qadsiah and bagging 21 last campaign. 

In third place, it’s good news for Liverpool fans as Jeremie Frimpong has recorded a top speed of 35.6km/h. 

The right-back has had a mixed start following his £29.5million switch from Bayer Leverkusen but he certainly seems to have rockets in his boots. 

Lower down the list, Chelsea’s Pedro Neto claims seventh with a top speed of 34.9km/h. 

A £54m signing from Wolves, Neto has quickly slotted into Enzo Maresca’s starting XI on either the left or right flank, and had a good game at the weekend as he scored and assisted against Nottingham Forest to help give Ange Postecoglou the boot. 

In eighth, it’s newly minted England star Djed Spence. The Spurs left-back boasts a top speed of 34.5km/h and is, so far, the fastest player in his position so far across the continent’s elite tournament. 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the second-quickest player in the competition aged 36 

Jeremie Frimpong is the third-fastest player in the Champions League in a boost for Liverpool

Chelsea’s Pedro Neto, when he is not fooling around with cones, is the seventh-quickest 

Newly capped England star Djed Spence comes in eighth on the left flank for Tottenham 

Lower down, Mohamed Salah has bagged joint-10th for himself after clocking a top speed of 34.3km/h. 

The Egyptian’s form has dropped off a cliff and he has been accused of losing his legs a bit, but this stat flies in the face of that narrative and suggests that he still has the afterburners to switch on when he needs them.

It helps him to beat Van de Ven, who settles for joint-14th alongside Villarreal’s Nicolas Pepe on 34.2km/h.

A couple of seasons ago, the Dutchman broke the record for the fastest speed in Premier League history when he zoomed along at 37.38km/h against Brentford.

Having that extra gear is hugely significant for beating the offside trap, making lung-busting runs from midfield, and catching a striker with a recovery run, but you might be surprised how little players actually sprint. 

Many footballers spend less than one per cent of their time sprinting. 

It is not an overly shared statistic, but for example, by March 25 last season, Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon had spent more time sprinting than anyone else in the Premier League, and he had only done it for 1.17 per cent of the time.