Adelaide board member Mark Ricciuto has slammed a report suggesting forward Mitch McGovern wants to get out of his current three-year deal with the Crows.
SEN journalist Sam McClure broke the story on Tuesday night, suggesting the 23-year-old wants out of his contract after the Crows told him they had no more money left, before signing Bryce Gibbs on a lucrative contract.
“Mitch McGovern is attempting to break his contract, which he’ll try and do for a second time at the end of this year,” McClure told SEN’s Time On on Tuesday night.
“Mitch McGovern signed a three-year contract extension in late August of last year, it was only a matter of weeks later that he tried very, very late in the piece to get out of Adelaide and go home to Western Australia or indeed even Victoria.
“He (McGovern) is not happy with the deal that he signed, based on the fact that the club told him they had no more money, and then proceeded to go and get Bryce Gibbs from Carlton and pay him more per year than what McGovern is getting now.
“My understanding is that Mitch McGovern’s preference is to be playing in Victoria next year, that is on the basis that his brother Jeremy, who is also looking to move clubs, may not be in their home state of Western Australia where both McGovern’s hail from."
Ricciuto heard McClure's comments for the first time on Wednesday morning, and responded by rubbishing the reports, suggesting McClure has got his facts wrong.
"Those talks took a very long time to get that contract done. That wasn't rushed at all," Ricciuto said on Triple M.
"And it was on big money, as he potentially should have got. "[McGovern]'s got plenty of talent. At the moment he's only played 44 games and kicked 65 goals, so he's not exactly shooting the lights out, but he's got plenty of ability and, you know, he's done some big things in big moments.
"He's on very good money for what he's performed so far and good luck to him.
"That has been well documented. [Gibbs] is on less money than what he was on at Carlton and he is on less money than Mitch McGovern. I know that for a fact.
"Sam McClure has got some of his facts wrong there. That's the first time I've heard that grab and that's my response to it."
McGovern is currently on the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury during Adelaide's heartbreaking Showdown 44 loss to Port Adelaide in Round 8.
