Mariners won’t play Bolt’s game of show me the money

It looks like an open-and-shut case of “show me the money”, but the Mariners aren’t willing to play along with Usain Bolt.

Central Coast Mariners coach Mike Mulvey watches his squad in Gosford yesterday. Picture: AAP.

It looks like an open-and-shut case of “show me the money”, but the Mariners aren’t willing to play along as the curtain slowly draws on the Usain Bolt experiment.

Some 48 hours after The Australian revealed exclusively that the Central Coast had tendered an offer, the Mariners finally came clean yesterday admitting a deal had been put to the Jamaican sprint star for him to play in the A-League this season.

That offer came after pressure from Bolt’s management following his two-goal effort in a trial against a South West Sydney select at Campbelltown Stadium several weeks ago when his brace of goals made worldwide news, attracting 6.4 million views on the Mariners’ social media page.

While the Mariners say the media have got their sums wrong, it is now no secret that their offer is somewhere between $100,000 and $150,000, well short of the $3 million that had been touted since Bolt linked with the club in August.

Unless a third party is willing to come up with a substantial financial package that would go somewhere near the $2.9m mark — a highly unlikely scenario — then the offer, in its present form, is one the club expects the eight-time Olympic champion’s management will knock back.

Forget contract talks and third-party deals because looks can be deceiving. There is a game within a game being played out as the parties try to thrash out a solution for a mutual parting of ways after two months of media hype and speculation.

The Mariners issued a statement yesterday and the devil was in the detail.

A key paragraph read: “Regarding the commercial terms of the negotiations, Usain Bolt’s management and the Central Coast Mariners are in conversations with external partners to find a commercial solution that suits all parties. Without the financial contribution of an external third-party, it is unlikely that Usain Bolt and the Central Coast Mariners will agree to terms.”

The club also decided that Bolt would not attend training this week so that Mike Mulvey’s squad can focus on their first home game of the season against Melbourne City at Central Coast Stadium on Saturday night.

“Usain Bolt will not train with the club this week until and if the club and Usain Bolt can agree to terms and formalise an arrangement,” the Mariners said.

With the media likely to have turned up in force at training to try and talk to Bolt, it would have been too much of a distraction. Bolt’s whereabouts and what plans the club have for him on the training track are unknown.

Meanwhile, Mariners defender Kalifa Cisse, who has formed a good friendship with Bolt, admitted he was unaware of the athletics legend’s plans but said the saga has not been a distraction.

“It hasn’t been a distraction. All the players turned up to training today with a smile and focused on training and the game,” Cisse said.

“We don’t really know what is happening with him. The club is dealing with that and I haven’t spoken to him lately. But he is obviously desperate to sign a contract, this is his dream but it is not just up to him.”

Cisse, a journeyman who has played in England, the US, Portugal and Asia, did not believe fans would disappear if Bolt walked away.

“Fans have been supporters before Usain. If he signs or not, they will be here,” Cisse said.

“It all depends on us, we need to perform and perform well and make them want to come and support us. Maybe they wanted to see him, but first the proper football fans will come to the stadium to support the team and not one player.”