Just In: Bolt rejects Maltese football contract
News & Trends •
reports suggest the mariners are waiting for governing body football federation australia to decide whether it will contribute to a potential aus3 million us2.1 million offer to the 100m world record holder1 sprint superstar usain bolt has turned down a contract from maltese champions valletta and will remain in australia to pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer his agent said thursday1 he scored two goals in a pre-season friendly last friday but is yet to be offered a deal with cashed-up valletta dangling a two-year trial-free contract to entice him away earlier this week1 but bolts agent ricky simms said he had opted against a move to the maltese premier league team which is backed by a group of investors from the sanban group in the united arab emirates1 there is a lot of interest in usain playing football he told espn1 we regularly receive similar approaches. i can confirm usain does not wish to pursue this opportunity in malta1 valletta chief executive ghasston slimen told the broadcaster we wish usain bolt all the best with his football career. the valletta fc offer is always on the table1 australias domestic a-league season starts this weekend with the mariners in action on sunday away to brisbane roar. with no contract bolt is not eligible for selection1 club chief executive shaun mielekamp said this week the jamaican will continue his indefinite training period until any further notice1 the eight-time olympic champion has been on trial with a-league club the central coast mariners since arriving down under in august1 sydneys daily telegraph on thursday reported bolt and mielekamp sat down for a coffee in the wake of the malta offer for clarity on his future1 it said the 32-year-old who regards australia as a second home might consider accepting less money if it means locking in a contract1 coach mike mulvey was reluctant thursday to talk about bolt saying he was not involved in contract negotiations1 im really not interested in it contract speculation to tell you the truth he told reporters1 hes been great among the guys and i was very happy for him last week with the two goals he scored but we move on1 mariners captain matt simon dismissed suggestions the chronicles of bolt were distracting the squad ahead of their a-league opener1 hes been here for a couple of months now so everywhere we go with usain everyones talking about him simon said1 weve just been down to business concentrating on the season and putting into practice what weve been doing at training for the last 12 weeks1 bolt who retired from athletics last year has previously tried out with clubs in germany south africa and norway to no avail1