Usain Bolt has never hidden the fact that he'd love to become a footballer, and who can blame him. Barcelona legend Xavi though has just taken a rather large mess over those dreams in his assessment of the possible switch of sports.
Bolt is undoubtedly one of the greatest sportsmen who ever lived. On the track he did things that no one thought possible, especially when he broke Michael Johnson's world record for the 200m.
The 31 year old called it a day on his racing career last summer after the World Championships in London with just the eight Olympic gold medals to his name, it would have been nine if it wasn't for a stupid relay teammate taking drugs.
At 31 though Bolt is far from over the hill so he could be an athlete for a while yet and that's exactly what he'd like to do just in a different sport. He is due to have a trail with Borussia Dortmund at some point and he's also playing in Soccer Aid.
Whether that could ever actually lead to a career in football is highly debatable. One man who knows a thing or two about being a professional football is Xavi and he doesn't need a debate.
Talking to SO Foot, via Goal, the Spaniard said: "What makes the difference today in football? It's talent. And what is talent? It is the possibility of controlling what you do and what others do, because you play with your head and not only with your feet. "I love Usain Bolt, he's a great athlete. Physically, nobody comes close. Who runs faster than him? No one. "But with all due respect to him, he will never make any difference on a football pitch. We cannot supplant mental speed and game intelligence with physical abilities. It's impossible"
Speaking at the announcement of him captaining the World XI for the UNICEF charity match at Old Trafford the former runner said, "It is my dream to make it as a professional footballer, so to be able to step out onto the pitch at Old Trafford in June, and play against some of football's biggest legends is going to be remarkable.
"I enjoy the thrill of competition in front of a crowd, so Robbie and his England team had better watch out as I won't be going easy on them! "I've got a pretty special celebration planned for when I score, by the way. My team is going to be unbeatable." Is Xavi right about Bolt or could he actually become a footballer with his pace?
