Essendon Football Club today confirmed it had conducted talks with Wayne Carey late last week but at this stage has not received any confirmation with regards his preferred club next season.
""We felt we needed to clarify the situation given the number of enquiries we have had this morning,"" Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson said. ""We did meet with Wayne last week but at this stage have received no indication as to his preferred club next season. We aren't pushing him for a decision because it is obviously something he needs to carefully consider.
""I would like to be very clear that this club – for obvious reasons – offered Wayne substantially less than what is being suggested as his market value of between $400,000 and $450,000. His market value was something we could not even consider given our current salary cap position and we are not prepared to substantially compromise our current playing list in order to obtain his services. Wayne himself has said money was not an issue and our offer reflected that. Our offer was based around giving Wayne a quality club where he could re-build his football career and get on with life.
""I also want it to be understood by our supporters that even if Wayne did happen to say he wanted to play at Essendon, it is only a very small step towards seeing that actually happen. It is one reason I have been a little bemused by the amount of media coverage it has received. Everyone seems to be forgetting that the Kangaroos are central to any deal being done and I think that should be given more respect than it has been given to this point.""
