Salford Red Devils have been told to “sell players without delay” after the Rugby Football League issued a sustainability cap of £1.2m.
The Super League club finished fourth in the table last season before losing in the play-offs to eventual champions Wigan Warriors and St Helens, a side who will reach the semi-finals and then lift the trophy again in 2022.
Salford also reached the grand final as recently as 2019, losing to St Helens at Old Trafford, but it was revealed on Wednesday that their team will be split after the RFL has been told to reduce the club’s salary cap.
“The club has been instructed to sell the players without delay,” the club said in a statement titled “The Truth Behind the Rumors.”
“The RFL has issued a sustainability cap of £1.2m, with players banned from registering for the upcoming season until this is reached.
“A condition of receiving promotion (Salford received a centrally distributed advance payment of around £500,000) was that the club would be subject to ‘special measures’ requiring £800,000 of overhead savings.
“With no clear timeline for compliance with the necessary spending cuts given, the club has decided to maintain its position in the short term while investor negotiations take place.
“During this period the club has received offers for many players but has not been able to sell anyone until today.
“Investor negotiations continued over the weekend as part of a long and rigorous process to secure a takeover of the club.
“This is still ongoing and we are working to process it quickly and we cannot disclose any further details due to non-disclosure agreements in place.”
Following the statement, the amount of traffic to the Salford Red Devils website was such that the club confirmed that the website had indeed crashed.
Salford also explained why grants promised by Salford City Council last March never came to fruition due to local funding cuts. It’s something the club believed was still coming in when it came to putting money into recruitment and pre-season training.
“One investor negotiation collapsed due to the investment risk of not having a firm position from the council on when the stadium acquisition would be finalized. This is an example of the sensitive negotiating position we find ourselves in,” Salford added.
The RFL has instructed Salford to reduce its salary cap by £1.2m.
“In March, Salford City Council proposed that the club could receive a grants control grant to support rugby league and the rugby development pathway for the city of Salford and Greater Manchester.
“In November, Salford City Council advised that the Grants Control Grant could not be accessed due to a lack of funding elsewhere, the impact of which was to have clubs already having to put money into player and staff recruitment and cover pre-season preparation costs, including warm weather. Paid for the camp in Portugal.
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“In fact, these anticipated funds have already been allocated.
“We believe we have acted in the best interests of the club, players, staff and fans, taking into account a complex situation with many different dynamics.
“We sympathize and understand our fans’ frustration, and we are very sorry to have to take this stance.”
“Our focus remains on exploring all possible avenues to ensure the long-term stability and success of Salford Red Devils.
“The immediate next step is to continue the potential acquisition process to secure investment as quickly as possible, while also selling players to meet RL Commercial regulations.”
Salford travel to St Helens for their Super League season opener on February 15. sky sports.
2025 Super League – Key dates and things to watch out for
March 1: Wigan Warriors v Warrington Wolves in Las Vegas
April 17-19: Round 8 – Rival Round
May 3-4: Magic Round (Newcastle St James’ Park)
July 24: August 31 – Round 20 – Rounds split over two weekends.
September 4-7: Round 25 – Rivals Round Fixture Reversal
September 18-21: Round 27 – Last round of the regular season (date and time to be determined)
September 26-27: elimination playoffs
October 3-4: semifinal
Saturday, October 11: Grand Final (Old Trafford)
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