Anyone who has played FIFA before knows about the importance of speed.
Pace far exceeds any other attribute in the game and it’s the reason why the likes of Ernest Asante and Mathis Bolly, despite not being quality players, still attract plenty of interest in Ultimate Team and Career Mode.
FIFA 18 is released next week and there will be a rush to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Borussia Dortmund is the fastest player in the game, his 96 pace rating putting him ahead of Hector Bellerin and Gareth Bale.
It’s the second straight year that Aubameyang bags the coveted title and once again he figures to be a nightmare to play against.
But it’s not just sprint speed that decides a player’s pace rating but their acceleration, too.
Mohamed Salah has 93 sprint speed, ahead of Lucas Moura’s 92. But both players share a 93 overall pace rating because Moura’s acceleration is 95.
FIFA 18 speed test
So in order to determine the actually fastest player in FIFA 18, YouTuber ZAN OMG conducted a speed test in which he got the 20 quickest players together to see who would come out on top.
Would Aubameyang, who has 96 sprint speed and 95 acceleration, prevail, or could any of the other speed demons cause an upset?
Watch the video below to find out.
So Aubameyang emerged victorious, beating Sporting Lisbon’s Gelson Martins, Bale and Salah in the final.
Aubameyang once ran 30m faster than Usain Bolt
It’s hardly surprising, mind. Back in 2013, the Gabon international covered 30 metres in 3.7 seconds during a pre-season test, faster than Usain Bolt took to run the same distance when he set a world record in the 100m in 2009.
Unsurprisingly, Aubameyang’s speed left everyone at Dortmund stunned.
“Pierre is surely one of the fastest players who has ever played here,” the Bundesliga club’s sporting director Michael Zorc told Bild, per Goal.
And with 84 shooting to add, Aubameyang will be electrifying in FIFA 18.
Arsenal fans may be wondering where Theo Walcott was in ZAN OMG’s video.
The winger was the fastest player in FIFA 16 with 96 pace but he’s been on the decline ever since, receiving a 93 pace rating for last year’s game and 91 pace for FIFA 18.
The perils of getting older.