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Cronulla have been blindsided after grand final winner Ben Barba reportedly accepted a multi-million deal to join French Rugby.
Barba appears lost to the NRL after he accepted a two-and-a-half year contract worth $1 million a year to join Toulon, News Corp reported.
However Sharks chief executive Lyall Gorman said he had not received any indication from the 27-year-old’s management that a deal had been struck.
“I’m not aware of that,” Gorman told AAP.
“We’ve had no communication with him today, I can’t verify that.”
The former Dally M medal winner could now turn out for Toulon as early as next weekend’s Global Tens tournament in Brisbane.
Toulon shocked the NRL world late on Tuesday by trumpeting Barba’s signature until midway through 2017.
Barba had hoped to return to the Sharks by the time his 12-game ban for a second positive illicit drugs test expired, however the governing body moved quickly to shut down his plans.
The NRL’s strong stance led Barba to question whether to back-track, prompting Toulon to table a longer term deal.
NRL boss Todd Greenberg on Wednesday declared Barba’s suspension wouldn’t start until any overseas playing commitments were completed, virtually ruling Barba out of a return this year.
The developments come after the NRL had recently granted the former Dally M medallist permission to train at the club and participate in community programs.
“Ben’s always been frustrated by the stability in his life. Married man with four young kids, I can understand that,” Gorman said on Wednesday.
“We’re just trying to get a bit more clarity around some of those items to give him a bit more level of comfort as to where he’s at.”
Gorman said the club’s original one-year offer for Barba is still on the table.
“I think we’ve always made our position very clear that we see Benny as a member of our club and want to see him have a long-term future at our club,” he said.
“At the end of the day, his decision is to go overseas and he believes that’s in the best interests of his wife and kids, we accept that.”
Barba was a key component in the Sharks’ maiden premiership win last year, but his manager Gavin Orr admits his 27-year-old client may have made his final appearance in the NRL.
“I dare say he will play in this Tens tournament,” Orr told News Corp Australia.
“Ben can either look back at his mistakes or he can look forward and try to be an inspiration for his kids. Rugby has been on Ben’s radar before. At one stage he looked at being part of the Australian Sevens team for the Rio Olympics.
“Even before he joined the Sharks, he talked about challenging himself in rugby. Maybe things happen for a reason, but this is something he wants to pursue.”
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