Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt has been offered a professional contract by Australian club Central Coast Mariners, his agent has reportedly told ESPN.
Bolt, 32, has been on trial at the A-League club since August and scored his first goals for the side in a pre-season friendly last week. The new A-League season got underway this weekend, although Bolt was not involved as the contract situation had not been resolved.
However, Bolt's agent Ricky Simms has said his client has now been offered terms. "I can confirm Usain has been offered a contract by Central Coast Mariners," he told ESPN.
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Read more:
Cool Runnings 2? Five sports Usain Bolt could try if he doesn't make it as a footballer
Ange Postecoglou: Usain Bolt faces 'difficult' task to become a professional footballer
Readers letters: Praise for Usain Bolt, a star sprinter turned footballer
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Bolt last week turned down a two-year contract by Maltese champions Valletta FC, who are 70 per cent owned by UAE-based investment company Sanban Group.
Mariners were in talks with governing body Football Federation Australia (FFA) to decide whether it will contribute to a potential Aus$3 million (Dh7.85m) offer to Bolt.
FFA head David Gallop insisted that any financial support from the governing body would not be drawn from a marquee fund set up to attract top players to the A-League.
"The ball is very much in the Mariners court. They have to make a decision whether they want to move to put Usain onto a contract," Gallop told Macquarie Sports Radio.
"If they get to that point [of signing Bolt] then we'll look at what's feasible for us but it can't be from the marquee player fund .... we can't use that money but we'll look at if we can do anything else."
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
