8:07pm, 07 December 2017

Montpellier have reportedly tabled a massive offer for the services of Munster backrow CJ Stander.

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A source has told RugbyPass that Stander has been offered in the region of €600,000 per annum to move to the Top14 giants, a figure that far exceeds his IRFU offer, which is reported to be in the region of €260,000.

What’s more, with French tax breaks in place for sports people, Montpellier’s offer would amount to the equivalent of €750,000 in Ireland.

The Irish tax system allows rugby players and other sports people tax relief at a rate of a 40 per cent deduction of your gross earnings based on your income arising in the year of retirement and the preceding 14 years of assessment, provided you were resident in Ireland and end your career in Europe.

Pressure has been heaped on the IRFU in recent months, as negotiations for the services of Stander and Peter O’Mahony appeared to have hit a roadblock.

The two backrows are among Munster’s most prized assets, yet the IRFU has so far failed to lock down contracts with the pair, an issue which has made national headlines in Ireland.

Both are considered stalwarts at the Irish province, O’Mahony in particular being seen as the natural spiritual successor to Paul O’Connell.

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CJ Stander, a native of South Africa, has come to be one of the club’s most loved players on and off the pitch, and has firmly committed to Ireland publicly since making his international bow last year.

Both backrows represented the British and Irish Lions during the summer of New Zealand, and their stock has never been higher.

Reports on Sportsjoe.ie however claim that the IRFU offered Stander just €260,000 per annum, literally a fraction of what he could demand in the UK or France. That figure – if accurate – was just €20,000 more on his previous contract.

Montpellier are backed by billionaire owner Mohed Altrad, whose networth is estimated at €1.7 billion.

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Altrad immigrated to France from Syria in 1969, he didn’t speak French and survived on one meal a day. Now he heads Montpellier-based Altrad Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of scaffolding and cement mixers, with $2.4 billion in revenues and more than 21,000 employees.