Brisbane Broncos star front rower Payne Haas has spoken out about his request for a release from the Brisbane Broncos for a the first time.
The NRL world was rocked on Thursday afternoon by news that Haas had requested an immediate release from Brisbane, where he is on contract until the end of the 2024 season.
It's a contract which has already previously been upgraded by the Broncos without an extension as they looked to keep the game's best prop happy.
It's understood Haas has recently been negotiating a new deal with Brisbane, which would both be an upgrade through to the end of 2024, and an extension beyond the end of that season.
While director of football Ben Ikin has previously spoken about the need to retain Haas at the club, it has been reported that the club were unable to accommodate Haas' request for another upgrade to his current deal.
Brisbane released a statement on Thursday afternoon stating they would "not entertain a release" for Haas.
Haas has constantly been in the news after an ugly fallout with his previous manager, and was booed relentlessly by the Brisbane crowd during Friday's game against the Gold Coast Titans - his first since the request was made public.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, he told the publication that despite the request, he wants to stay at the club.
“I’d like to stay,” Haas said.
“It’s been really hard, it’s been a tough few days to be honest.
“I turned up here (on Friday night) to play against the Titans, so that shows I am here playing for my teammates and the club.
“That’s all that matters.”
Haas then confirmed that he is letting his manager handle the release request.
“I don’t know what happens now," Haas added.
“I don’t want to talk about the release stuff. I’ll let my manager handle that side of things and hopefully they can work things out.”
Brisbane have confirmed that, after denying the request for a release, they will continue to negotiate with Haas' management over a contract extension.
Haas is unable to formally field offers from other clubs until November 1, 2023 without Brisbane's permission.
