Former Aston Villa ace Gabby Agbonlahor has said it is hard to say whether or not he was quicker in his prime than Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Mbappé is widely acclaimed as one of the best players in the world. He scores extraordinary goals, creates chances and is capable of beating almost any player in a foot race. According to Ligue 1, the Frenchman is the fastest player in the division along with Terem Moffi, with a top speed of 36 km/h.
Agbonlahor, who was also lightning fast in his prime, was asked on SportBIBLE who would have won a race between him in his prime and PSG ace Kylian Mbappe. Agbonlahor said he isn’t too sure of the outcome, as people didn’t use speed guns in his playing days.
The former Villa striker, referring to one of his most famous goals, said:
“Phew. Did you know? It’s very difficult to say because I remember there was a video from 2008 – I don’t know if you’ve seen it – where I scored for the Emirates against Arsenal. He plays himself in an exaggerated way, he is sent off by Martin Laursen. We wear the blue and black Nike (team) acorns, and I run from the halfway line, the ball over the top, I sprint past Gallas and hit him.”
added:
“And I don’t know if I look back, maybe, in 2008, I feel like he (Kylian Mbappe) would have been a great career because of Mbappe’s terrifying speed, right? Me too, so it’s hard to compare, you know? I feel like nowadays they can time people’s speed, but back then they couldn’t. Yeah, I think it would be a great race.”
Agbonlahor’s famous goal came in Aston Villa’s 2-0 win over Arsenal on 15 November 2008. He chased down a speculative long ball from the halfway line and applied a brilliant shot past Manuel Almunia to put the Villans up. 2-0 up in the 80th minute.
Kylian Mbappé wants to represent France at the 2024 Paris Olympics
PSG ace Kylian Mbappe has said he dreams of representing France at the Summer Olympics in Paris next year.
However, the 2018 World Cup winner understands that the Olympics are not part of FIFA’s international match calendar and would listen to PSG if they don’t want him to go.
The France superstar said (via France24):
“I hope to be there. Everybody knows I’ve always dreamed of playing in the Olympics, but it’s not up to me. I won’t force it because if people don’t want me to play in the Olympics, that means I shouldn’t.”
He continued:
“The truth is that it is not part of the FIFA calendar. I have to think about my club and my national team as well because the Euro Cup is just before, so we have to discuss it. All these things have to be considered, but of course it would be a dream to play in the Olympic Games, even more so in Paris.”
France have won two Olympic medals in soccer, a gold in 1984 and a silver in 1900. They will have a considerable advantage if 2022 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot (eight goals) winner Kylian Mbappe represents them. in Paris in 2024.