Ryan Brierley admits he reached ‘breaking point’ at Salford Red Devils before completing his switch to Championship side Oldham.
Brierley brought an end to his three and a half season stay with Salford on Thursday as he became the latest key man to depart, joining Super League hopefuls Oldham on a deal until the end of the 2027 season.
He was joined at Boundary Park by Jack Ormondroyd, while Chris Hill and Chris Hankinson have also left the club this week, bringing an end to their struggles at the club with wages being paid consistently late and question marks about the club’s pension and insurance payments emerging.
More players could yet leave the Red Devils this week, with reports of unpaid bills adding even more uncertainty as the club prepare for the clash with Hull FC on Sunday.
Brierley is a boyhood fan of Salford, so making the decision to leave the club was always going to be a hard one. But, he says this season has been the toughest of his career and after another challenging week, he was left with no option but to leave.
Ryan Brierley explains Salford Red Devils departure
“Obviously it’s been a tough couple of months,” Brierley said in an interview with Sky Sports on Thursday night. “I’ve probably got to that breaking point now, especially as a boyhood fan, it’s been pretty tough.
“I wish nothing but the best for the club, it’s just been a point where I felt like I could help the club at the same time. There’s a few issues this week and hopefully me going can help the club in the short-term at least.
“I’m just praying for everyone there that everything gets sorted. It’s probably been one of the toughest years of my career and today’s been a struggle.
“I had the conversation in the week about where the club were going and would it be solved. There was a couple of things that probably needed resolving towards the back end of the week to make sure the club survived and lived to fight another day.
“I take peace and comfort from that, helping the club for one last time and it hopefully survives, at least in the short-term, and hopefully long-term. Hopefully the club gets back to where it belongs but it’s been a tough 24 hours, as you can imagine.”
Asked about reports of unpaid bills, Brierley added: “It’s been bad. As a lifelong Salford fan to come to this decision this morning was probably as bad as it gets. I just feel for everyone there.
“I don’t think anyone deserves to go through this, especially as rugby league players and sportsman and with families, it’s been a real tough element. Seeing mental health deteriorate in front of your eyes was the final straw. I pray for a successful resolution.”
Anonymous
August 8, 2025 at 11:22 am
These owners are just laughing at the club.
Eric T Cat
August 8, 2025 at 1:13 pm
The lack of transparency, the failure of the RFL, at every level, the coach, staff, players don’t know what’s going on, let alone the fans! The Salford owners have brought the game into disrepute, no hint of sanctions. The RFL have nothing to say it appears. What happened to “fit and proper person” checks? This is a vision of next season, with clubs added without proper planning, without infrastructure, without financial backing, ignoring all the advice given by IMG on grading which has seen stability and a levelling up generally in the Super League.