Eight times Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt is just starting with his soccer career, and the offers are already rolling in. Bolt, who retired from athletics in 2017 to pursue his dream of becoming a soccer player, had his first start with Australian A-League club Central Coast Mariners in a recent friendly match against South West Select and immediately scored two goals.
This draw interest from several European clubs, with Malta’s champion Valletta FC acting first and offering the 32-year-old a two-year contract. According to Valletta’ managing director and CEO Ghasston Slimen, the club hoped that they could achieve their aspirations of Champions League football with Usain Bolt’s help. Unfortunately for them, Bolt opted out against a move to Malta.
“There is a lot of interest in Usain playing football,” – the player’s agent Ricky Simms told ESPN. “We regularly receive similar approaches. I can confirm Usain does not wish to pursue this opportunity in Malta.”
In case that Bolt changes his mind, the offer will still be on the table.
“We wish Usain Bolt all the best with his football career. The Valletta FC offer is always on the table.” – Slimen said in a statement after finding out the news.
Despite playing for Central Coast Mariners in friendlies, Usain Bolt still doesn’t have a contract with the team and is on a long-term trial. In case that the Mariners do offer him a deal, Bolt would be forced to sit out the first half of the season, since the window for registering new players in A-League re-opens in January.
