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Football

25th Feb 2018

Usain Bolt has joined a football club

Could he be heading to Old Trafford?

Reuben Pinder

They’ll be pumping balls into the channels for days

Usain Bolt is most famous for holding the men’s 100m sprint world record, but he is also known for being a huge football fan.

He has made his adoration for Manchester United very public and joked in the past that he would love to play for them.

Today the athlete announced on Twitter that he has signed for a football club. He didn’t say which one, but he will reveal the club on Tuesday.

It’s unlikely to be United, as much as fun as it would be, unless they are signing him as their Official Running Partner. It is probably a huge PR stunt, but whoever does sign him might actually want to use him up top. As one of the fastest men in the world, he could be a weapon chasing floated balls down the channels.

Admittedly, I have no idea what his footballing ability is like. Pace can only take you so far as a footballer, as Theo Walcott has demonstrated.

Most footballers lose their pace once they turn the wrong side of 30, but for Bolt, 31, that is unlikely to be a problem. However, he is a sprinter, so endurance could be an issue.

Maybe he’ll just be an impact substitute.

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Usain Bolt