Sexton with Heineken CupAccording to reports in French media, Jonny Sexton will be leaving Leinster at the end of this season and joining Racing Metro in the French game.
Rumours of a salary in the region of €800,000 are being suggested from a club that has echoes of Manchester City.  They were one of the premier clubs, with a Parisian fan base but have not won the title since 1987 and had slipped down to the second tier of the game before being bought by a multi millionaire in the form of Jacky Laronzetti.  He has vowed to build a new stadium and a new team and Sexton appears to be part of his plans.
Other French clubs seem more sceptical of recent history when Brian O’Driscoll admitted to using French interest merely as a negotiating tactic with the IRFU.
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Sexton is younger though and came later to the top level so has less to gain from the tax benefit of staying as a professional sports star in Ireland.  He could play abroad for two years, in large part securing his financial future, and return in time for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
It is notable last Saturday that amid the car parking spaces at the RDS Arena reserved for players, Sexton’s car, supplied by Volkswagen as part of their sponsorship of the province, is the biggest and brashest with a 131D registration.
The IRFU are unlikely to come close in terms of a financial offer and with players on central contracts, Leinster do not have the option, even if they wanted it, to bolster a deal through commercial partnerships.
Sexton is undoubtedly a great talent and will be a key part of the Irish team for many years to come.  It may be in his own interests to develop as a player in a new environment, where domestic competition might be more intense; and at the same time make sure of a financial reward from the game that could evaporate with a single injury every time he steps out.
The uncertainty over the future shape of the Heineken Cup is another issue that will be to the fore and this is one that would have a less calamitous impact in France than it would in Ireland.
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