What’s the story?
Kylian Mbappe and Paris Saint-Germain sealed the Ligue 1 title last weeked by beating AS Monaco 3-1. The Frenchman, alongside scoring a hat-trick, set an exemplary record in that game. The 20-year-old broke Leroy Sane's sprint record in the game which helped PSG to clinch the title.
In case you didn’t know...
Despite PSG having a mediocre season, Mbappe has been quite impressive. The former AS Monaco star has scored 30 goals in 27 appearances in Ligue 1 for the French champions. The youngster has been the leading man for PSG, despite the club having Neymar Jr and Edinson Cavani in their ranks; the duo have been plagued by injuries this season.
The heart of the matter
In PSG's title winning victory against AS Monaco, their prized asset dazed everyone with his record-breaking lightning pace. Mbappea saw his dazzling run steal the limelight rather than his superb hat-trick.
In the move which ended up with his opening goal against Monaco, the World Cup winner averaged a speed of 38 km/h as he played the ball out wide to Moussa Diaby. In a bid to get on to the return ball, Mbappe covered ground with lightning fast speed to tap the ball into the back of the net. This sprint saw him surpass the record set by Manchester City forward Leroy Sane, who clocked 35.5 km/h last season.
To put this ferocious velocity into perspective, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who is a World and Olympic champion, had clocked in 37.58km/h in the 2009 Berlin World Championships as he set a 100 meter world record for 9.58 seconds.This just shows how fast the Frenchman is but it does not take into account the distance.
What's next?
It remains to be seen if Mbappe remains at PSG beyond the summer as Real Madrid have been heavilly linked with making a move for him.