When asked to compare who’s faster between him and Kylian Mbappe, “The Lightning Bolt” Usain Bolt had a surprising answer.

Kylian Mbappe is considered one of the fastest footballers in the world. Many believe that the PSG and French national team forward could complete the 100m distance in just 10.9 seconds.

Mbappe’s speed has even been compared to Usain Bolt. The Jamaican “King of Sprinting” currently holds the world record for the 100m distance with a time of 9.58 seconds.

Present at the Laureus Sports Awards ceremony in Madrid, Usain Bolt mentioned Mbappe when asked by a reporter from Marca. The 37-year-old former athlete highly praised the speed and balance of the French player.

“It’s really hard to run as fast as Mbappe. Many people think it’s easy. But it takes special talent to do so. Mbappe is very fast. When he has the ball, he’s also very quick,” Usain Bolt remarked.

At 37 years old this year, Usain Bolt has moved far from his peak performance era. However, the Jamaican “King of Sprinting” remains very confident when asked if he could beat Mbappe in a race.

“Yes, I will beat him,” Usain Bolt firmly asserted to Marca.

Mbappe currently leads the Ligue 1 top scorer list with 24 goals. The maximum speed the 25-year-old player has reached in Ligue 1 this season is 36.07 km/h.

Surprisingly, Mbappe is not among the top 10 fastest players in Ligue 1 for the 2023/24 season. The record belongs to Marseille’s forward Faris Moumbagna with a maximum speed of 36.37 km/h in the match against Clermont in round 24 of Ligue 1.

However, Mbappe has shown incredible speed on the Champions League stage. The PSG forward once reached a speed of up to 38 km/h in the match against Sociedad in the round of 16.

Regardless of how fast Mbappe can run, it’s unlikely he could match Usain Bolt. Mbappe can only beat Usain Bolt in a race… with a ball involved.