Daly Cherry-Evans has broken his silence on his contract saga and confirmed he will definitely quit Manly at the end of the 2025 season, but wants to play on.
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Speaking on 100% Footy, Cherry-Evans said he would not accept a two-year offer from Manly that was offered live on NRL 360 on Tuesday night and 2025 will be his last at the club.
He also said he will not make a decision on his future beyond 2025 until later in the year, but he will not be at Manly in 2026.
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Cherry-Evans said he has considered this decision since December and won’t change his mind.
“Based on sort of all of the reports last week, I felt like it was starting to become sort of pretty regular news and not news that I really enjoy,” Cherry-Evans said on 100% Footy on Channel 9.
“So I thought the best thing that I could do for the situation was to let everyone know where it’s at and where it’s been at for a while.
“So that was why I felt like it was best after yesterday’s game to come out and just openly say where it’s at and as I said, no more footy at Manly beyond this year.
“So definitely plays on a lot of emotions. Certainly hasn’t been a decision that’s made overnight, but I definitely feel a lot better for letting everyone know about.
“It’s obviously not an easy decision.
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“I’ve spent a long time there and lot of lifelong friends, but the main reason for doing it is I felt like that as my career comes to an end, I wanted to take my time, whether that’s retiring or playing on and by cutting ties with Manly this year then I felt like that was the best chance for me to have freedom throughout the year to take my time to choose, and then from there, they were able to move on and find the next halfback for Manly.
Cherry-Evans said there was no animosity towards Manly and explained the process he went through.
“There was no low balling,” Cherry-Evans said.
“So prior to Christmas, was when I was officially off contract. So we spoke to a couple of clubs. We made the club aware that was going to happen.
“We’ve been in constant contact with the club the whole time, which has been really nice. So there’s no animosity there.
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“And then from there, there was no formal offers from any other club. So in turn, that you Manly said that they weren’t going to offer anything unless another club offered anything.
“So those offers didn’t come through from the other clubs, so Manly didn’t need to offer anything, which was fine.
“So no animosity there. And that gave me a lot of comfort to then just say, I think the best decision here is for me to be able to sit back and take my time this year and then just give me only the heads up that was the last year for me with them.”
Cherry-Evans said Manly have been aware of his decision since December.
Manly to do “everything” to keep DCE | 05:06
“I reckon the last time I went through a contract situation, I tried to put on a brave face, and this time, I can be really honest and say this has sparked so many emotions,” Cherry-Evans said.
“This hasn’t been a decision that’s made overnight. I’ve been sitting with this for a while and the club and I have been aware of this decision since December.”
Cherry-Evans was pressed on whether he had received an offer lately.
“Not until NRL 360 tonight,” Cherry-Evans replied.
“We had a lot of great conversations prior to Christmas around what it might have looked like.
DCE set to leave Manly next season? | 08:01
“I made the call to tell them, so this, this isn’t back on them here, this is on me. I made that decision to say, this will be my last year at Manly.”
Cherry-Evans was pressed on being offered a two year deal live on television.
“The last couple of hours has definitely been really bizarre, to be completely honest with you, but prior to that, my management company and I have had really transparent conversations with people at Manly, and we’ve been directed to talk to certain people at Manly, and some people haven’t been involved in those conversations, so they might be a bit unaware, but there’s been nothing but transparency,” Cherry-Evans said.
“And even as my conversations when I left training today with my coach, teammates.”
Cherry-Evans conceded his decision may upset people but he is content.
“I understand this decision won’t please everybody, but I am content with the call I have made.
“The people that are close to me and myself are happy with the decision I have made.”
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