The Mole: Dragons face whopping fee to buy Israel Folau
Israel Folau's return to the NRL has moved a significant step closer with his French club Catalans declaring they are prepared to release the controversial star - for a price.
Folau is still contracted to Catalans for next season and would not be allowed to join St George Illawarra without a release.
But Catalans boss Bernard Guasch has declared his club will release Folau if the Dragons gave his club a tidy sum for their troubles.
"We are not going to break the contract of Israel Folau without compensation," Guasch said in a clear message to the Dragons.
Israel Folau Getty
It is believed the Catalans club will allow Folau to return to Sydney for around $200,000.
Now the Dragons have to decide whether it is worth paying that amount - on top of Folau's hefty wage demands.
But there is another hurdle - the NRL is yet to give the Dragons the green light in the wake of Folau's homophobic rants that ended his association with Rugby Australia.
I ran a poll on Twitter over the past 24 hours and over 5000 fans voted - with around 65 per cent saying they did not want to see Folau back in the NRL.
