Kingston: Former Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who is all set to swap his spikes for studs, has said that though he is a `massive fan` of Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo, his natural talent is more similar to that of Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.
The 31-year-old, who has won eight Olympic gold medals in his illustrious career that ended in 2017, is all set to give playing football a serious try out when he joins the Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund this week.
Talking ahead of an open training session with his first football team, Bolt said that he is a big fan of Ronaldo, but he has more in common with Messi, saying they both benefited from a natural ability.
“Messi is very talented.From what I’ve learned and listened to over the years, Cristiano had to work to get where he is. I was born with speed and had a lot of talent [like Messi],” goal.com quoted Bolt, as saying.
Meanwhile, Bolt said that he is now determined to use his stint with Borussia Dortmunds as a platform to achieve his ultimate dream of playing for his beloved club Manchester United.
“I don’t know what to expect [at Dortmund].I’m going to try my best, as always. I’m a very determined person when I want something so I’m going to go there and do my best. For me, my best is always good enough,” he said.
“I would love to play for the team [Manchester United], to give it some thought and see where it goes. After the trials I then have a base to tell him [Jose Mourinho] I can do this, I can do that,” the Jamaican sprinter added.
The eight-time Olympic Gold winner, who holds the world record for the 100m (9.58 seconds), the 200m (19.19 seconds) and the 4x100m relay (36.84 seconds) besides having 11 World Championship titles to his name, retired from athletics following the 2017 World Championships.
ANI