This is the whole paradox of French rugby. If the financial health of the Top 14 has never been envied by the world and the ProD2, too, has seen more and more big salaries pour in in recent years, the unemployed are always more numerous.
“We supported exactly 213 players,” announced to Midi Olympique the General Director of Provale, Mathieu Giudicelli. A colossal number, more than twice that of 2022 and 2023.
And if “115 players ended up finding a club”, the majority had to accept “an offer in a lower division”, like Thomas Hoareau (from Béziers to Carcassonne) or Julien Heriteau (from Clermont to Grenoble) to name a few .
TOP 14. 27 years old, 53 Top 14 matches but still unemployed: Julien Ory’s funny summer“Places are more and more expensive,” continues the CEO of Provale. And this for various reasons: firstly, the reduction in the number of professional contracts in clubs, because of the salary cap and the inflation in the price of “top players”.
And then of course, the influx of English players in particular, which disrupted the market, which today has many more demands than offers.
Something that the messy bankruptcy filings on the side of the Nationals do not necessarily help to improve. A worrying situation, as 98 players remain looking for a professional contract.
