Nice work if you can get it alright.
There was little surprise when All-Black out-half Dan Carter confirmed last night that he will be moving to Racing Metro after next year’s World Cup; the only thing about the move that raised an eyebrow or two was the startling figures involved.
The biggest Top 14 clubs have been rewarding their players pretty well for some time now, but Carter’s salary is set to exceed that of any player that has went before him, with a report in the Telegraph suggesting the 32-year old will earn approximately €1.5 million a year as part of a three-year deal with the French giants.
Sad to think 2015 will be my last year playing in NZ but excited to announce my move to @RacingMetro92 next December
— Dan Carter (@DanCarter) December 18, 2014
Although Carter has arguably been the best player in the world over the last decade or so, he will be a few months short of his 34th birthday when he rocks up in Paris at the end of next year and his body has been feeling the effects of a long and glittering career in recent years.
Since missing out on the tail end of New Zealand’s successful World Cup campaign in 2011 with injury, the out-half has been plagued with a succession of injuries and after taking a six-month sabbatical earlier this year, he fractured his right fibula only a few games into his comeback.
Carter himself has admitted that next year will likely be his last in New Zealand, which means that he probably won’t play for the All-Blacks again after the 2015 World Cup given their policy of not selecting players based overseas.
If that is the case, he’s left New Zealand and rugby fans alike with some amount of memories.
