The Week
Jamaican icon has support from Paul Pogba and Raheem Sterling
Usain Bolt in action during his trial spell at A-League club Central Coast Mariners
Usain Bolt has revealed that he will make a decision on his professional football ambitions by the end of November.
The Jamaican sprint legend, 32, was recently on trial at Australian club Central Coast Mariners but rejected an offer to join the A-League outfit.
ESPN reports that the eight-time Olympic gold medal winner has set himself a two-week deadline on whether he will pursue his football dream or decide to call it quits.
Speaking to Omnisport, Bolt said: “I’ve got a lot of offers from a lot of other clubs out there. We’ll make a decision before the end of November if I’m going to go to another club or call it actually quits.”
Prem stars support Bolt
While Bolt dreams of playing professionally his footballing ability has received criticism. Last month former Republic of Ireland international Andy Keogh said the Jamaican’s first touch was “like a trampoline”.
Hitting back at Keogh’s comments Bolt says he has received support from a number of global stars, including Manchester United’s Paul Pogba and Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling.
“People are going to say what they want, I’m used to this,” Bolt told Sky Sports. “I used to do track and field, people used to think badly of me when I started and I proved them wrong every year.
“Football is something that I want. I’m sure he [Keogh] is not at the level he was when he started, you know what I mean? I don’t take it personally, I just laugh at these things.
“I’ve talked to Pogba and Sterling and they are happy to see me trying, they say ‘come on, you can do it’.
“They support me, so I’m not going to worry about some simple players saying some things about me because I have high-level players knowing this is a dream and what I want to do.
“This is not about all about the money. This is a dream, and I want to try and see how good I can be.”