Usain Bolt Eyes Football Return with Veteran Team Featuring Ex-Premier League Stars

Eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt has hinted at a return to the football pitch, declaring he is ready to join a non-league team that features a host of former Premier League stars.

The world's fastest man famously pursued a professional football career after he retired from athletics in 2017.

His journey included training stints with German giants Borussia Dortmund and Norwegian club Stromsgodset, and he even scored two goals in a friendly for the Central Coast Mariners in Australia.

Although his professional aspirations did not materialise, Usain Bolt now appears open to the idea of playing for Wythenshawe Vets.

The Cheshire Veterans Football League side has recently gained attention for its impressive roster of former top-flight players.

The team has featured names like Danny Drinkwater, Marc Albrighton, Papiss Cisse, and Oumar Niasse. Additionally, former Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia, along with Joleon Lescott, Danny Simpson, and Maynor Figueroa, are all registered with the club.

When asked by talkSPORT about the possibility of joining them, Bolt was enthusiastic. "Listen, I’m ready. I’m ready," he said. "If I get into some shape, I’m ready to go."

Many believed Usain Bolt's incredible speed, holding the 100m world record at 9.58 seconds, and 200m world record of 19.19 seconds, would give him a significant advantage on the football field.

However, the Jamaican sprinter, now 37, has since expressed some regret about how he approached his transition into the sport, particularly his decision to play in Australia to escape the intense media scrutiny in Europe.

"I thought that if some players, I’m not going to name names, you know them, if they can play football, I can probably do it too," Usain Bolt reflected. "It was a great experience, I definitely enjoyed it."

He added, "When I decided that I was going to go into it, I was like, ‘I don’t want to stay in Europe.’ Because of who I am, in Europe, the sole attention is going to be on me. I decided to go as far as possible, but I think the correct thing to do was to actually stay in Europe, where there were much better teams."