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top-14
French clubs could gain another major advantage in the transfer market, with the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) set to vote early next year on plans to allow Top 14 clubs to exempt one player from their salary cap.
The Top 14’s basic salary cap has risen from €10.7m (£8.92m) to €11.1m (£9.2m), with caps on fees for international players and constant talk of a player outside the cap potentially having as early as next season.
It remains well above the £6.4m per team allowed in Gallagher PREM, which can be stretched to £7.8m with academy/domestic player loans and long-term injury replacements.
While PREM clubs now have to spend a basic £5.4m on talent, they are allowed one player whose full salary does not count towards the cap. Talks about allowing a second player have stalled, as seven out of ten clubs need to agree.
Bath co-owner Bruce Craig wants to face the French and said The Daily Telegraph earlier this year, “The French have done well, but now it’s time to put our system in place, which they can start to worry about.
“I think shopping players is a way to get closer to them. Take Jalibert. He’s probably being paid €500-600,000 (£422-507,000). As a marquee, we could pay him £1m and bring him to England.”
The LNR will vote on the proposals on February 10, but bickering and horse-trading between clubs continues, Toulouse and Montpellier wanting to exempt up to three players, while Clermont and Bayonne they are said to oppose the idea.
Another stumbling block to overcome before the crucial vote is the proposed €500,000 (£418,000) player cap, far less than some clubs spend across the Channel.
