And you thought Paul Gallen ruffled feathers.
NRL officials look set to be kept on their toes if extrovert English billionaire Marwan Koukash achieves his dream of buying into the league.
The Brisbane Broncos are now in the sights of the outspoken owner of English Super League club Salford after nibbles at the Wests Tigers, Gold Coast and Newcastle.
Broncos chief executive Paul White said he was unaware of Koukash’s interest but minority shareholder Phil Murphy told The Australian he had discussed the sale of his 20 per cent stake in the NRL club with the colourful businessman.
Koukash’s talks are seen as the first step towards taking full ownership of the Broncos.
But it remains to be seen whether the club’s majority owner – News Corp Australia – can be talked into handing over its last remaining investment in rugby league.
Either way, the NRL would no doubt be kept honest by Koukash who made his presence felt after taking over Salford in January 2013 and rescuing it from financial ruin.
A rags-to-riches tale, the one-time Palestinian refugee turned self-made billionaire pumped between STG3 million ($A5.5 million) and STG4 million ($A7.3 million) into the Salford club before turning his attention to the Super League itself.
The prolific racehorse owner tried to reverse the growing trend of stars leaving the Super League for rugby and the NRL by introducing a marquee player rule in February.
He wanted a high-profile signing exempt from its salary cap – almost half the NRL’s $5.5 million – but rival clubs voted against it.
Typically, Koukash vowed to fight and force a relaxation of the cap.
His uncompromising attitude is reflected on his Twitter account.
“Every time I tweet about Salford, I get a lot of s*** from other fans. To be honest, I do not give a f***,” Koukash tweeted on October 20.
Koukash is expected to fly to Australia about Christmas after plans to attend the Melbourne Cup were scuppered when his horse Mount Athos, third in last year’s great race, broke down.
White did not want to speculate on Koukash’s Brisbane talks.
“I know of him like most people, he’s made an investment in the game in the UK,” he said.
“By all reports he has a large personality.
“If he is passionate about the game and wants to make an investment, that will be his decision.
“But we have no control over that and it would be wrong for me to comment on that.”
