Bolt decision 'imminent' with Gosford goodbye looming

Usain Bolt is expected to inform Central Coast Mariners officials “imminently” whether he will continue to chase his A-League dream - or run in the opposite direction.

The club continues to make feverish attempts to secure third party backers willing to fund the famed sprinter’s football odyssey, as the Jamaican weighs his options ahead of planned promotional trips to Tokyo and London.

However, unless benefactors can be found in the coming days willing to deliver the multi-million dollar deal he wants, then Bolt isn’t expected to return to Gosford to train again with Mike Mulvey’s men.

He has declined to accept a $150,000 contract offer from the Mariners, augmented by a similarly modest sum from the FFA.

And the project which has grabbed the sporting world’s curiosity, with 800 million people tuning in, will be over - at least in Australia.

The Mariners were depending on FFA to reach into their marquee fund to land Bolt, but A-League boss Greg O’Rourke has stated that won’t happen.

But the door remains open until Bolt officially shuts it, with a highly-placed Mariners source saying: “This remains a work in progress and we’re still working through the commercial side of things to see whether there is anything that can be done to keep him.

“Usain is thinking about things, and right now it’s up in the air. Nothing would surprise us, whatever the outcome is. Whether he stays or goes.”

The multi-millionaire 32-year-old eight-time Olympic champion has been criticized in some quarters for making his decision more about dollars than dreams.

He was reportedly offered a deal by ambitious Maltese club Valletta last week, without the caveat of a trial period, and the Mariners have no qualms with him hunting a rich contract with them, especially in the light of the publicity his dalliance has generated.

“He’s within his rights to want to capitalize on his earning potential,” explained the club source. “Ultimately these things tend to come down to the levels of remuneration on offer.

“Whatever transpires it has to work for everybody, and the final decision will be up to Usain.”

The club hierarchy hasn’t accepted the notion that Bolt - who scored twice this month in a hit-out against a cobbled-together Sydney South West team - won’t ever be good enough to play in the A-League.

“He’s clearly improved and you give him another two months, and maybe he might be good enough to be a squad player,” added the source.

“Perhaps somebody who can come off the bench ... we don’t know that because it hasn’t been done yet.

“It’s not like he hasn’t improved, because he has. People are making judgments on him too early.

“But at the end of the day, superstars want to get paid. And that’s the way it is, rightly or wrongly.

“I think we’ll have a final decision (on whether he signs or not) imminently. Certainly over the next week, if not sooner.”

Even if Bolt doesn’t return to training, the club have milked the moment and put themselves on the world football atlas.

“It would be disappointing not to see the project through,” added the source. “But nobody in the history of the A-League has generated the interest that he has.

“Just about everybody has heard of the A-League now and the Central Coast Mariners, and that’s not a bad thing.”