Twitter
Advertisement

Usain Bolt's Manchester United debut: Sprint legend to play against Barcelona at Old Trafford

Bolt's childhood dream of playing at Old Trafford is all set to be fulfilled.

Latest News
article-main
Manchester United supporter, Jamaican Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt on the pitch with a replica shirt displaying the time in which he won the 100m Final before the English Premier League football match between United and Fulham at Old Trafford in Manchester, north-west England on August 25, 2012
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

Usain Bolt took an emotional final bow on the track at the end of the World Championships in London on Sunday before declaring that, definitely and definitively, there was no way he would ever return to sprinting.

The sprint king, though, is all set to make his debut for Manchester United in a legends match against Barcelona. Bolt's childhood dream of playing at Old Trafford will be fulfilled if he recovers from a hamstring injury before the September 2 charity match.

The contest, organised to raise funds for the Manchester United Foundation, will witness Bolt line up with United legends Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

"This has been his dream for many years. He’s desperate to do it as long as he can get over the injury," a source told The Sun.

Bolt, who has won eight Olympic gold medals and is the current 100m world record holder, recently expressed his desire of pursuing a career in football. "Well, I’ve always said that I wanted to play football because it’s something I think I’ll be good at," he told reporters after an emotional farewell at the London Stadium. "But right now, after pulling my hamstring, I’m not really worried about that at this moment."

The Jamaican even joked about how United manager Jose Mourinho will make a move to sign him soon. "Everyone knows I'm always talking about (playing) football, I'm waiting on a call from Mourinho," he said. "I think he's waiting until the last day (of the transfer window)."

No comeback to track and field

Bolt had emphatically shut the door on any questions regarding a comeback to track and field. "No, I've seen too many people come back and make things worse and shame themselves. I won't be one of those people who come back," Bolt said firmly.

The 30-year-old Jamaican's matchless sprint career had ended painfully on the last leg of the 4 x 100 metres relay final as he crumpled to the ground in the London Stadium with a hamstring injury.

Bolt, who admitted that it had been a terrible end of a "stressful" championship for him after also losing his 100 metres crown, said he had felt consoled on Sunday when someone told him "Muhammad Ali lost his last fight too -- so don't be too stressed about it".

Already he was looking forward to an exciting future, he said, with his management camp talking to IAAF President Sebastian Coe, about what he might be able to do for the sport in an ambassadorial capacity. He also revealed that his coach Glen Mills, the sage of Jamaican athletics, wanted him to become his coaching assistant.

"So we'll see how that goes," Bolt smiled about the man who has put him through a lifetime of pain.

And the great man even had reporters laughing when he gave them a vision of what a 50-year-old Usain Bolt might end up doing. "I've no idea. Hopefully, with three kids, married, still in track and field, trying to help the sport, watching it grow," he said. "I don't know if I'd take my kids to the track, though. I won't be one of those parents who force their kids into things they don't want to do."

(Inputs from Reuters)

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement