Salford Red Devils star opens up on grim reality of plight as ‘soul ripped out’

Salford star Ryan Brierley has compared the club’s ongoing financial plight as ‘death by 1,000 cuts’, saying the ownership group are ‘ripping the soul out’ of the squad as he detailed the grim reality of the last few months.

Boyhood Salford fan Brierley has been with the club since the start of the 2023 campaign, scoring 34 tries in 84 appearances across all competitions to date.

While staying loyal to the club, he has seen a plethora of team-mates and good friends depart, starting with Brodie Croft and Andy Ackers who both joined Leeds Rhinos ahead of 2024.

But on the back of a 2024 campaign which saw the Red Devils finish 4th in Super League, the reality of their financial issues came to light and their plight has been ongoing since November.

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Salford Red Devils star Ryan Brierley opens up on grim reality of plight as ‘soul ripped out’

Among others, Marc Sneyd has joined Warrington Wolves, Brad Singleton has moved to Castleford Tigers and Kallum Watkins has returned to Leeds in recent months.

Full-back Brierley is no stranger to this type of situation having been contracted to Toronto Wolfpack when the Canadian outfit ran into financial hardship in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Opening up on the heartache that Salford’s plight has caused on Sky Sports’ ‘The Bench‘ podcast this week, Brierley said: “Going back to the Toronto stuff, it was just a guy who was pretty much saying, ‘I’m skint, I’m not paying’.

“This is like, ‘we’re going to rip your soul out first, and we still might not pay you, and god knows what will happen at the end of it’.

“It’s death by 1,000 cuts. We don’t know what’s at the end of it.

“My position is that I’ve always wanted to stay strong with this club because of the affiliation I have with it. My family supports this club.

“Have I had thoughts about it? Certainly, but that’s more from a point of looking after my family.”

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‘Being the club captain should have been the best day of my life… it ended up being one of the worst’

Nine-time Scotland international Brierley turned 33 last month and is self-admittedly approaching the end of his career.

Following Watkins’ exit, he has now made the step up from vice-captain to be Salford’s official skipper. But given the circumstances that honour has been received in, he goes as far as describing it as ‘one of the worst days’ of his life.

Brierley explained: “Emotionally, I have such an attachment to this club and being the club captain now should have been the best day of my life.

“It ended up being one of the worst, because you see Kallum Watkins leave.

“If you’d have asked 10-year-old me playing at Westhoughton Lions would I be captain of Salford running out at Wigan away, I don’t know (what I’d have said). I’m a Salford fan, so my dream came true.

“I just wish it was in better circumstances. Being the full-time captain now should be the proudest moment, and I’d love to be part of the new era.

“What I do get excited about is the young kids playing and being part of that. Having them ask me for advice and ask me  questions, I like that role of being a mentor and helping out.”

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‘It probably is the toughest moment in my career, but I do hold on to that 1% of the club being better for it and coming through this’

Preston-born Brierley’s contract runs until the end of the 2026 campaign, and he should comfortably surpass the milestone of 350 career appearances by the culmination of that deal.

Having donned a shirt for Leigh, Huddersfield Giants, Toronto and Hull KR prior to Salford, and despite everything going on with the Red Devils at present, he still has a clear vision of what he’d like to achieve before he hangs his boots up.

The veteran detailed: “I’d love to get to the end of the (2025) season, rebuild and then potentially in my last season as a rugby player (in 2026), win a trophy for this club.

“I know it sounds a million miles away right now, but that’s the dream, and if we haven’t got that right now then what have we got?

“It probably is the toughest moment in my career, but I do hold on to that 1% of the club being better for it and coming through this.

“It’s tough, but I’ve got to believe in that 1%.”

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