LEGENDARY sprinter Usain Bolt says he has signed for a football team and is set to confirm his club of choice on Tuesday.
The athletics legend has made his passion for the sport clear on a number of occasions, and has previously floated the prospect of playing professionally.
But now things look to have escalated.
“I’ve just signed for a football team,” Bolt said in a video posted on Twitter.
“Find out who it is on Tuesday 27th February.”
Bolt said he would confirm his new team at 8am GMT on Tuesday (7pm AEDT).
The Olympic legend regularly posts about his love for Manchester United on social media, while he recently said he was set to trial with Borussa Dortmund in March.
“It’s something that I want to do,” Bolt told goal.com.
“I have trials with Borussia Dortmund so that’s something that is on the table. After the trials, then I can determine if it makes sense to do it or it doesn’t make sense.
“That’s what the plan is.”
He also recently put forward his case to play as a striker for David Beckham’s Miami-based MLS team.
“On a serious note, though, if you need a striker, I’m the guy,” he said in a video offering his well-wishes to the new franchise.
Chinese Super League champions Jiangsu FC have “ceased operations”, the club said on Sunday, underlining the financial problems coursing through football in the country.
Jiangsu, who won the domestic title for the first time just three months ago, are owned by the conglomerate Suning — which also owns Italian giants Inter Milan.
Chinese media said that Jiangsu have not officially dissolved and could yet have a lifeline if new investors are found soon.
The unravelling of Jiangsu, until recently known as Jiangsu Suning, could be followed in the coming days by the closure of fellow CSL side Tianjin Teda.
Chinese football has in recent years gained a reputation for lavish spending on foreign players and coaches, as the country pushed to become a world leader in the sport.
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Jiangsu brought in ex-England coach Fabio Capello and signed Brazilians Alex Teixeira and Ramires for 50 million euros and 28 million euros respectively.
In the summer of 2019, they came close to capturing Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale.
But, even before the coronavirus pandemic, money had begun to dry up across Chinese football.
“Even though we are reluctant to part with the players who have won us the highest honours, and fans who have shared solidarity with the club, we have to regretfully make an announcement,” Jiangsu FC said in a statement.
“From today, Jiangsu Football Club ceases the operation of its teams.”
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The club from the eastern city of Nanjing blamed an “overlap of various uncontrollable elements”, but said that it was “continuing to seek, in a wider scope, interested parties for its future development of the club”.
Amid reports of financial difficulties, Suning’s chairman Zhang Jindong earlier this month hinted at a pivot away from sport, in comments which also did not go unnoticed in Italy where Inter are battling rivals AC Milan for the Serie A title.
