Eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt, aiming to become a professional football player, will soon finish his trial period in Australia, after which the Jamaican hopes to sign a contract with the currently represented "Central Coast Mariners" or another football team. However, the belief that the most successful sprinter of all time can become a successful football player is diminishing. Although the sprinter managed to score two goals in friendly matches with his team, many notice glaring technical flaws in his game. "He stops the ball like a trampoline," former Irish national team player Andy Keogh, currently representing Australia's Perth Glory, vividly commented to the BBC. "He will not succeed as a professional footballer." The representatives of the Australian club themselves allegedly understand that Bolt is not capable of playing in official matches. According to Goal.com, the "Central Coast Mariners" have long been convinced of the Jamaican's immense shortcomings in football field, but delay in ending negotiations with him due to the expected huge attention from sponsors and media - the 32-year-old athlete who became the most famous sprinter on the planet is interesting to the whole world. It is believed that the club's management does not rule out the possibility of signing a contract with Bolt just to be able to release merchandise bearing his name and the number 95 - which could bring considerable profit to the Australian team. However, the team's head coach Mike Mulvey confirmed last week that he does not agree with such a decision - in his opinion, Bolt does not meet the standards of his team and the entire Australian A-League. Partly, the situation of the "Central Coast Mariners" resembles that of the Lithuanian basketball club Prienai-Birstonas "Vytautas" last year. Languishing at the bottom of the Lithuanian basketball league and drowning in debt, "Vytautas" decided to invite the Ball brothers to the team and after their arrival managed to improve its financial situation. Similarly, the situation of the Australian club is like this - the team finished last in its league last year, and the team manager has no intention of wasting his own money to make the club competitive. So strategies are being sought to earn more money and venture into the position of league favorites, and for this purpose, the card of the world's most famous sprinter is being played. According to Goal.com reviewer Peter Staunton, one of the biggest problems of Bolt is that he aspires to play in attack - with his level of technique, he cannot become a reliable goal scorer or at least a productive player on the opponent's side. This was demonstrated last year by charity matches held in Manchester, where Bolt struggled against far from top-level defenders, losing the ball to them one after the other. The problem of the retired sprinter is not only his actions on the field - he gradually alienates Australians due to his greed as well. It is believed that together with his agent Ricky Simms, the Jamaican is trying to negotiate an almost 2 million euro salary with the "Central Coast Mariners." To understand how astronomical this amount is for the Australian team, consider this: even the best players in the league, who have been eating footballer's bread all their lives, earn only 100-150 thousand euros per season. According to various reports, the team was willing to offer Bolt an 80 thousand euros salary, which for a player of this level should be considered a great amount - only a few Lithuanian A-League footballers earn more. It is difficult to explain the desire of Usain Bolt, who earns tens of millions per year from advertising contracts, but it seems that this, along with his limited abilities on the field, will block his path to starting a professional football career. It appears that the sprinter's dream of becoming a footballer is not destined to come true.
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