I Should Have Stayed in Europe” – Usain Bolt Regrets Choosing Australia for Football Stint

 

Eight-time athletics Olympic champion tells Jamaican radio he should have chased his football dream in Europe.

Bolt added that had he stayed in Europe, where he trained with Strømsgodset in Norway and Borussia Dortmund in Germany, he would likely have had coaches "who understood (...) and would teach me more, and I would get a lot more and get a lot more respect. If I knew I would have stayed in Europe."

The sprinter, who gave up his dream and retired from "all sport" in 2019, admitted that his decision to switch sports was taken based on his belief he was better than some professionals he saw when watching the matches of his favourite team, Manchester United of England.

"During (my) track and field (career), I was always watching Manchester United," he said. "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," he explained in Patois.

"It was a great experience, I definitely enjoyed it," he insisted.

During Bolt's time in football, former Spain national manager Vicente del Bosque suggested to the Olympic Channel that the Jamaican – who played as an attacking winger – should have tried his hand as a full back instead.