40.3 km/h: fastest player in the world operates in Portugal

Journey 33 of the Portugal League was marked by a historic feat in world football. Gabriel Silva, Brazilian striker from Santa Clara, reached the impressive speed of 40.3 km/h, becoming the fastest player on the planet, according to the Azorean club himself.

The moment occurred at 90+5 minutes of the game against Famalicão, at Stadium of São Miguel. At a time when the visiting team was looking for the goal of a draw, the 23-year-old Brazilian took advantage of a defensive relief to launch a fulminant counterattack, benefiting from the absence of the opposing goalkeeper in the goal.

According to Statsports data, which uses GPS technology for performance monitoring, Gabriel Silva surpassed the previous record of Sven Botman (Newcastle), which had been registered at 39.21 km/h. Although there are different methodologies to measure speed – with or without ball, for example – this brand is currently the highest confirmed by GPS.

To contextualize the feat, just remember that the legendary Usain Bolt reached a 44.72 km/h peak in its 100 meters famous. Gabriel Silva, the new “fog man” of the pitch, approached notably this speed, showing that pure speed is also part of modern football.