Itoje caught up in salary cap storm

England star’s business link with Sarries chief

MARO ITOJE has gone into business with saracens owner Nigel Wray,

Sportsmail can reveal, in yet another arrangement likely to prompt questions over whether the club is operating within the salary cap.

Documents seen by Sportsmail reveal that England lock Itoje struck an arrangement with Wray in 2016, making him the first known player to own a company jointly with the club’s owner.

Just like companies set up for the other saracens and England stars Owen Farrell, Mako and Billy Vunipola and richard Wigglesworth — which were revealed by Sportsmail earlier this week — MN Property solutions Ltd was initially not linked to Itoje.

Instead, it was set up by a Graham cowan in august 2016, and was handed over to Itoje the following month.

a statement of the shareholders published on companies House in December 2016 shows Wray had come on board as a joint shareholder with Itoje, 24, who has played for saracens since 2012.

Meanwhile, accounts show that the company held more than £ 800,000 in ‘ tangible assets’ in 2018.

Wray’s links to yet another star player are likely to strengthen the calls for Premiership rugby to launch a full and transparent investigation into saracens, to check whether the club is complying with the £7million salary cap.

This latest revelation came as a former Premiership chairman claimed the majority of elite clubs swept salary cap breaches under the carpet and had ‘shot down’ his ideas for enforcing the rule.

Following Sportsmail’s exposé of the business and property arrangements between 70-yearold Wray, who is worth £315m, and his top players, former Gloucester chairman ryan Walkinshaw gave a frank account of experiences in the Premiership rugby boardroom.

Walkinshaw said he has ‘ zero doubt’ that clubs are cheating but that ‘ clever accounting and tight lips’ mean it is hard to prove. The former Ibiza DJ, who was involved with Gloucester until February 2016, said he had been surprised by the attitude of some clubs to the nine-month investigation into saracens and one other club in 2014 over alleged salary cap breaches.

In a stream of messages on social media, he wrote: ‘I fought hard to try to ensure that the alleged clubs in breach would be brought to justice. sadly I was one of only a small handful of clubs who shared that same mindset.

‘Many of the clubs held surprising positions on this such as claiming it wasn’t in the best interest of the sport to punish clubs in breach, or shaming them publicly, that any breach should be either swept under the carpet or at worst done privately behind closed doors.’

We understand that the clubs found in breach paid a fine which was then shared among the other 10 teams, with each receiving around £250,000.

Walkinshaw added: ‘I offered an idea that we outsource salary cap investigations to a third party, like (auditors) Pwc. This would reduce self- interest and the ability for clubs to brush breaches under the carpet. This idea was shot down.’

saracens maintain that they have declared all the arrangements raised by Sportsmail as

part of their salary cap duties.