Manager Mike Mulvey said that Usain Bolt in his current form does not deserve a roster spot.GETTY IMAGES
Usain Bolt was offered a professional contract by A-League side Central Coast Mariners but the club said that a deal is "unlikely without an external third party financial contribution," according to Nick Mulvenney of REUTERS. Despite two goals in one preseason friendly, club Manager Mike Mulvey suggested over the weekend that the Jamaican "would not on current form be worth a place in his side." The club said that it is considering ways to give Bolt "more individual intensive training and competitive game time" but that it will "have to be away from the A-League." The club statement added that the other main discussion point in negotiations was around "commercial matters." Football Federation Australia has "made it clear" that "marquee" money will not be available to sign Bolt. FFA said in a statement, "Usain Bolt's management and the Central Coast Mariners are in conversations with external partners to find a commercial solution that suits all parties." The statement added that Bolt will not train with the Mariners until a deal is finalized (REUTERS, 10/22). The AAP wrote reports claim the Mariners' offer was A$150,000 ($106,300), with the "majority" to be a contribution from FFA's marketing fund (AAP, 10/22). In Sydney, Ray Gatt reported it "appears this is the end of the line for Bolt and his dreams of becoming a professional footballer, at least with the Mariners in the A-League." It is "still possible he could pursue his options overseas" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 10/23).
GAME WITHIN A GAME: Gatt also wrote it "looks like an open-and-shut case" of "show me the money." While the Mariners said that the media has its sums wrong, "it is now no secret" that the club's offer is somewhere between A$100,000 ($70,900) and A$150,000, "well short" of the A$3M ($2.13M) that had been "touted since Bolt linked with the club in August." There is a "game within a game" being played as the parties try to "thrash out a solution for a mutual parting of ways after two months of media hype and speculation" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 10/23).
