Canterbury have made the shock announcement they won’t be signing Cronulla’s Test star Andrew Fifita after all.

Fifita was believed to have agreed terms for a four-year deal worth $3.5 million starting next NRL season, making him the highest paid prop in the game.

However, the Bulldogs issued a statement on Monday saying they had not been able to agree to final terms with Fifita.

The about turn comes after Fifita told AAP last week he wished he’d chosen to go to rugby union because of all the flak he’d copped about leaving Cronulla and also declared his intention to move to rugby union some time in the future.

“If I could go back now, I wish I chose rugby and then I wouldn’t be getting all the s*** I’ve been catching now,” Fifita told AAP.

“I grew up playing rugby so it was one of the best things.

“It’s always going to be there and I will eventually go to union.

“It’s another dream and I just want to chase another dream.”

Canterbury chief executive Raelene Castle did not specify the reasons why the Bulldogs decided not to proceed with signing Fifita.

“After signing a memorandum of understanding with Andrew we’ve not been able to agree on the final terms of his NRL playing contract and have ceased negotiations with his management,” said Castle in a statement.

“We wish Andrew all the best for the future.

Fifita’s management said: “Andrew is disappointed that we could not finalise terms with the Bulldogs but we still have several options in the pipeline to explore.”