Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt loves Mamelodi Sundowns

Multi Olympic gold medal winner Usain Bolt posing with the Mamelodi Sundowns jersey. Image by: Supplied by Puma

YOU can relax now‚ the photograph of Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt posing with a Mamelodi Sundowns shirt is real.

The photo went viral on social media on Monday night and it wasn’t long before some users began to question its authenticity.

Some went as far as ridiculing it‚ insisting that Bolt had probably never heard of the name Sundowns and the offending image was photoshopped.

Incensed Sundowns spokesman Thulani Thuswa put the issue to rest on Tuesday morning when he confirmed to Times Media Digital that the photo is real.

‘‘Usain and Sundowns are both sponsored by sports gear company Puma and I cannot fathom why people would think that the photo is not real. Why?” the bemused Sundowns official asked.

‘‘The Puma marketing team came to South Africa recently and they took the Sundowns shirt to Jamaica to Usain.

‘‘People must stop their petty jealousy. We are not some small team‚ we are a big team.

‘‘People must not be surprised when we do these things because we have a lot of plans in the pipeline.”

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Sundowns face Egyptian powerhouses Zamalek in the final of the Champions League at Atteridgeville on Saturday afternoon and Bolt used the photo to wish the Patrice Motsepe-owned club good luck.

Downs‚ the reigning PSL champions‚ signed a long-term deal with Puma in July and it is believed to be worth twice as much as the Chloorkop club’s previous sponsorship contract with Nike.

The German sportswear company confirmed at the time that the commercial partnership with Downs represented the biggest football kit deal in South Africa.

Puma also acquired licensing rights to develop other Downs-branded merchandise.

– TMG Digital

timeslive.co.za