October 23 – Retired Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt says he wants to pursue his dream of playing professional football but admits he will not “embarrass” himself.
The eight-time Olympic champion ideally wants to switch sports in 2018 and has revealed “a lot” of clubs have shown interest in signing him.
An avid Manchester United fan, the 100m and 200m world record holder retired from athletics after the World Championships in London earlier this year and regularly spoke about becoming a footballer. He has reportedly been invited to train with Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund.
“I would love to play football now I’ve retired from track and field,” the 31-year-old Jamaican legend told FIFA’s website. “I’ve been talking about it in interviews and a lot of clubs have reached out.
“Unfortunately, I got a bad hamstring injury in August and haven’t been able to do any training since then. Hopefully I will be able to play some games in 2018.”
Despite being 31, Bolt told reporters on the sidelines of Sunday’s US grand prix: “It’s a personal goal, I don’t care what people really think about it.”
“I am not going to lie to myself, if I feel I can’t do it, I am going to say ‘Forget this’. I am not going to embarrass myself. It’s a dream, it’s another chapter of my life that I really want to do. If you have a dream or something you really want to do, you want try to see where it could go.”
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