How many times will someone have to repeat this: when it comes to pace/speed in football people aren't talking about top speed, these are professional athletes they all literally have exceptional top speeds, they are talking about acceleration within the first few steps of a player's stride. That's what matters. That's what distinguishes prime Neymar from say, prime Busquets or Pique; acceleration.
On average just how much do you think a player covers per stride with and without the ball? 100m? No, about 5m-10m. That's why acceleration in football (and in other ball playing sports like Basketball, Tennis, Rugby etc) matters, strides only usually cover small distances.