- The Roosters star has been criticized for his previous comments
- May was told last week to look for a new club for the 2025 season.
Terrell May’s words came back to haunt him, with the Sydney Roosters informing the soccer star last week that he is free to leave the club due to his attitude towards the game.
Last Thursday, May was told to look for a new club for 2025, in a surprising move given the 25-year-old only signed a two-year contract extension in April worth almost $1 million.
An interview the rising star did with the media in September is understood to have played a role in the move.
The Gallos forward told the Sydney Morning Herald who sometimes just “doesn’t want to play.”
“I gave it away twice, when I was 18 and then when I was 20,” May said of football.
‘On both occasions I just didn’t want to play anymore. It happens to me like this all year round too.
“Sometimes I just understand: ‘I don’t want to be there and I don’t want to play.’
‘It’s a strange feeling. I don’t think many people experience where one week they love the game and show up on their TV screens and the next week they don’t want to be there at all.
The Roosters told Terrell May he was free to leave the club immediately.
It is understood the Roosters were concerned about May’s attitude towards the game.
‘Sometimes I feel like I could quit, like in a day. It sounds a little weird, but sometimes I have those thoughts where I think, ‘Is this really for me? “I’m very grateful to be where I am and play for the Roosters, but rugby league isn’t everything to me.”
The Roosters’ decision to tell May he was free to find a new home was also a surprise given veteran prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves left the club to sign a one-year deal with Hull KR in the Super League.
May enjoyed the best season of his career in 2024, outperforming Waerea-Hargreaves and Roosters teammates Lindsay Collins and Spencer Leniu in almost every statistical category.
The prop was informed of the club’s desire to sack him in a call with Roosters coach Trent Robinson earlier this week while he is on international duty with Samoa on their two-Test tour of England.
The initial report on May’s impending departure focused on whether the prop was a good fit for the club, but the Samoan striker dismissed that suggestion.
“(It has) nothing to do with things off the field,” May wrote on his Instagram.
The Roosters’ sudden decision to part ways with the forward has only increased speculation that the club is eyeing a big shot on the NRL open market.
In an interview in September, May admitted that sometimes he doesn’t want to play football.
Former St George Illawarra captain Ben Hunt is a free agent while Melbourne full-back Ryan Papenhuyzen was free to talk to rival clubs as of Friday.
Joey Manu has only signed a one-year deal with a Japanese rugby team and could be lured back to the Roosters midway through the 2025 NRL season.
Meanwhile, May will have no shortage of offers on the table after his stellar 2024 campaign.
Canterbury have free cap space following the club’s decision to sack Josh Addo-Carr on Thursday.
The Bulldogs were previously seeking May’s signature before he extended his contract with the Roosters earlier this year.
Other likely landing spots are St George Illawarra and Wests Tigers, who are still searching for a replacement for Melbourne-bound Stefano Utoikamanu.
The Tigers remain open to offloading English Test fullback John Bateman, who has attracted interest from Manly.
The Sea Eagles are set to examine a move for Bateman in the coming weeks and will not enter the race for May’s signature.