Bolt’s Football Dream Down Under In Limbo
Jamaican icon given take it or leave contract option
Usain Bolt’s dream to join the professional ranks as a footballer in the Australian top flight is in the balance.
The Jamaican legend has been absent from the Central Coast Mariners set-up as soon as the A-League club offered the 32-year-old a deal on Saturday.
And the former sprint star, who retired from his stellar athletes career last year, is now excluded from training with the smallest side in the A-League until contract talks are finalised in a take it or leave it scenario.
Bolt, who has made just two appearances amounting to 92 minutes since joining Mariners on trial in August, has allegedly been offered a deal at 1/20th of what his agent demanded.
And unless there is an eleventh hour appearance of a lucrative sponsorship deal tabled then it appears unlikely that Bolt will sign the contract with Mariners.
The Mariners issued a club statement: “To ensure that there is no distraction to the A-League squad in preparing for this weekend’s match v Melbourne City, Usain Bolt will not attend team training this week, until and if, the club and Usain Bolt can agree to terms and formalise an arrangement.”
His next step, should he reject the contract, could be to revisit the lucrative two-year deal with Maltese champions Valletta FC. Last week the Valletta FC, rollbanked by recently recruited Abu Dhabi investors, came in for the world’s fastest man. Although he turned down the offer, the club stated that he was always welcome to alter his mind.
Bolt, one of the world’s most marketable sportsmen, will have read over the weekend that Mariners coach Mike Mulvey doesn’t have current plans to utilise him and so the alarm bells must be ringing.
Now the Jamaican superstar has to carefully choose his next decisions of whether Australia or Malta are where his footballing future lies.
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