Fabian Johnson (r.) has the edge on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (l.) in the sprint stakes. - © © imago
Fabian Johnson (r.) has the edge on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (l.) in the sprint stakes. - © © imago

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Fabian Johnson and the Bundesliga's fastest players of all time

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Just because Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fancies his chances of beating legendary sprinter Usain Bolt in a footrace does not automatically make him the fastest player in the Bundesliga.

The Borussia Dortmund petrolhead is quick - there's no doubt about that - but he is not the quickest. That particular honour belongs to Borussia Mönchengladbach and USA wide man Fabian Johnson (22.1mph). Eat dust, Auba!

Johnson has been tearing up Bundesliga flanks since 2009, when he made his debut in the German top flight for Wolfsburg. The Munich-born flier's stock went through the roof at Hoffenheim, and he has continued to grow for club and country in Mönchengladbach.

Watch: Gladbach's Fabian Johnson in action

Johnson is only narrowly on pole in the speed department, mind. His nearest challenger, Aubameyang, joined Dortmund already with a turbo-charged reputation in summer 2013, but tends to spend most of his time these days scoring goals - a league-high ten in the Bundesliga after eight matches in 2017/18.

A couple of Bundesliga old boys can claim to match Aubameyang on the track, with Artjoms Rudnevs and Jan Rosenthal both reaching speeds of 22mph.

The remainder of the top 10 is made up of players all maxing out at 21.9mph, albeit with some colossal surprises in the form of Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos and ex-Bundesliga counterpart Jan Kirchhoff. You wouldn't want either of those to run into you at full-tilt, that's for sure!

The Bundesliga's top 10 fastest sprinters*

1. Fabian Johnson (Gladbach) 22.1mph
2. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Dortmund) 22mph
3. Artjoms Rudnevs (ex-Hamburg, Hannover and Cologne) 22mph
4. Jan Rosenthal (Darmstadt) 22mph
5. Karim Bellarabi (Bayer Leverkusen) 21.9mph
6. Sokratis (Dortmund) 21.9mph
7. Jan Kirchhoff (ex-Mainz, Bayern and Schalke) 21.9mph
8. Mame Diouf (ex-Hannover) 21.9mph
9. Mathew Leckie (Hertha Berlin) 21.9mph
10. Ihlas Bebou (Hannover) 21.9mph

*Data collection began in 2011

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