Speed is one of the best attributes a football player can have in their game. It can significantly help in one-on-one scenarios, whether you’re an attacker trying to get past the defender, or if you’re a defender that’s trying to race back and dispossess the dribbler. Pace is key to either starting counterattacks offensively or thwarting them defensively.
Throughout the years, we have seen some frighteningly quick players, more so in the 21st century, as players in general have improved athletically. Nowadays, some players even compare well to Olympic sprinters.
With all that in mind, GIVEMESPORT has ranked and analysed the fastest British players in history.
Ranking Factors
- Speedometer statistics
- How quick they look when playing
- How well they used their speed to earn a reputation as a fast footballer
10Aaron Lennon
Top Speed: 33.8 km/h
Standing at 5ft 5, Aaron Lennon used to play exactly how you expect someone at his height to. He was full of explosive movements; he had incredible acceleration and agility, which allowed him to get the better of his opposite number.
Lennon’s best spell in his career came when he was playing for Tottenham Hotspur, registering 30 goals and 76 assists in 364 appearances for the club over the course of a decade. While these numbers don’t blow you away, his job was simply to provide a counterattacking outlet down either wing (predominantly right-wing), and get the ball into central areas for the more creative players and finishers to shine.
9Marcus Rashford
Top Speed: 35.35 km/h
Marcus Rashford literally burst onto the Premier League scene in the 15/16 campaign, scoring five goals in 11 appearances for Manchester United. From that moment, it appeared as though the Red Devils had uncovered another young gem. However, it’s been almost ten years since Rashford made his debut, and it’s fair to say he has not hit the heights many thought he’d go on to hit after his first handful of games.
The England international has bags of pace and skill, which he has shown in moments out on the left flank, as he cuts inside onto his right foot and delivers spectacular goals. There are significant question marks over his defensive work rate and attitude though.
Rashford has been frustrating to watch throughout his career because of his inconsistent performances. He’s had patches of form where he looked unstoppable, like in the 2019/20 and 2022/23 campaigns, where he netted 17 Premier League goals in each of those terms. To put it simply, the 27-year-old has been either hit or miss over the course of his career.
8Jamie Vardy
Top Speed: 35.44 km/h
Jamie Vardy has been a nuisance for years for Premier League defences. Not just because of his knack for scoring goals, but also because of his winding-up tactics and his speed. During the season when Leicester City won the Premier League (2015/16), Vardy recorded the fastest top speed in Premier League history at the time with a whopping 35.44 km/h.
While his pace has undoubtedly diminished at the age of 38, he is still an ever-present and relentless figure for the Foxes. The Sheffield-born striker will be hoping he can add plenty more to his 143 Premier League goals tally in the hope of firing Leicester to safety this season.
7Raheem Sterling
Top Speed: 35.53 km/h
Raheem Sterling has been bombing down the wings in the Premier League ever since making his debut for Liverpool at the age of 17, back in March 2012. Quite rightly, he is regarded as one of the greatest left-wingers in Premier League history.
After signing for Manchester City in the summer of 2015, Sterling went from being a lightning-quick player who was deadly on the counterattack, to one who was a lot more savvy with his off-the-ball movement. Under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola, the England international would become a consistent goalscorer from the wing. Sterling worked on timing late runs into the box for cutbacks or crosses to the back post, and he began to flourish in front of goal. And because of his speed, nobody could mark him.
Sterling scored 131 times in 339 games for City. While he was banging in goals, Manchester City were dominating England, and the Jamaican-born winger helped the club to win four Premier League titles, one FA Cup and five League Cups.
6Anthony Gordon
Top Speed: 35.63 km/h
Anthony Gordon has shown his explosive speed ever since making his Premier League debut for Everton back in January 2020. But since joining Newcastle United in January 2023, Gordon has been much more than just a pace merchant. He has become a dependable threat down the left flank for the Magpies, and that is reflected in his stats, netting 21 goals and 17 assists in 92 appearances for the club.
Even though players like Gordon (wingers who are one-footed), are predictable – in the sense that you know they want to cut inside onto their stronger foot – yet, they still seem unstoppable due to the quickness in their burst of movement. At 23, the Liverpool-born winger has a very bright future.
5George Best
Top Speed: N/A
While technology and speed tests were never a thing back when the late great George Best played (between 1963-1984), the former Northern Irish star was deemed extremely fast by everyone who saw him kick a ball. Best was the winner of the 1968 Ballon d’Or, which is some feat considering there has only ever been five other British players to win the award since its inception in 1956.
The former Manchester United winger used his trickery and pace to breeze past his opponents, and then he could finish off a move in style with either foot, making him very tough to defend. As a winger, Best scored an incredible 179 goals and provided 29 assists in 470 appearances for the Red Devils.
4Theo Walcott
Top Speed: 35.7 km/h
For years, Theo Walcott bombed down the Arsenal left wing with his exceptional turn of pace. During his early and prime years, the former England international was almost always deemed the fastest player on the pitch because he always skipped past his marker with ease.
The former Arsenal man was so explosive even Lionel Messi once stated Walcott was “one of the most dangerous players I have ever played against.” Walcott wasn’t just a pacey player, he often skipped past defenders and delivered a decisive touch, whether that was with a shot, a cross, or a cutback.
Theo Walcott’s fastest top speed ever recorded was 35.7 km/h – although he may well have managed a quicker pace before players’ in-game speeds were tracked.
3Gareth Bale
Top Speed: 36.64 km/h
Gareth Bale was exceptionally quick and powerful, as he showed many times during his time at Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid, and, of course, for the Welsh national team. The Welshman often made it look like everyone else on the pitch was running in slow motion.
It wasn’t just pace that he was blessed with. Bale is considered one of the greatest British footballers of all time. Whilst his pace and power allowed him to bomb down the flank, he had the ability to finish from distance after dribbling past a few players. This allowed him to contribute to winning three La Liga’s and five Champions League’s with Real Madrid.
2Brennan Johnson
Top Speed: 36.70 km/h
While Brennan Johnson has certainly had a lot shorter career than most on this list, the 23-year-old is still one of the quickest British players ever. In fact, his fastest top speed of 36.70 km/h sees him rank among the 10 fastest players in Premier League history.
Even back in his Championship days with Nottingham Forest, the speedster has been leaving defenders in his dust. While Johnson may be statistically in the top three quickest players on this list, it’s impossible to rank him at number three or two because of what the others achieved throughout their illustrious careers. And thus far, Johnson has not achieved anything in his short time at Spurs, even despite his decent return of 17 goals and 13 assists in 66 games for the club.
1Kyle Walker
Top Speed: 37.31 km/h
Kyle Walker ranks as the quickest British player in history. The new AC Milan right-back has cemented himself as one of the greatest right-backs in the history of the game, and quite a lot of this has to do with his freakish pace.
Walker has played a huge part in Manchester City’s success in recent years, having helped them win six Premier League titles in the last seven seasons. His ability to make late overlapping runs down the side and over the top of defences has been super effective under Pep Guardiola. Equally, his recovery pace has helped snuff out many threatening counterattacks over the years, easily shutting down his opposing wingers.
Back in the 2022/23 campaign, despite being 33, the England international recorded an incredible top speed of 37.31 km/h. This Premier League top speed record would be later beaten by Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven in January 2024 (37.38 km/h).
