Heyneke’s Stade Francais have biggest player budget

French powerhouse Stade Francais, coached by former Bok coach Heyneke Meyer, boasts the biggest player budget ahead of the 2018/2019 French Top 14 season.

Owned by German Billionaire Hans-Peter Wild, the Parisian club has a budget of €34 million (R566 million), an increase on their previous budget of €30.16 million, which saw them ranked third last season.

Despite increasing their budget (€31.55 million to €32.5 million), last season’s leaders Clermont have now dropped to second.

Castres, who took home the Top 14 trophy last season, have one of the smallest budgets, coming in at tenth with €23.7 million.

Top 14 Budget List (via Sport24):

1. Stade Français €34 million
2. Clermont €32.5 million
3. Toulouse €32 million
4. Toulon €30 million
5. Lyon €29.8 million
6. Montpellier €27 million
7. La Rochelle €25.6 million
8. Pau €25 million
9. Racing €24 million
10. Castres €23.7 million
11. Bordeaux-Begles €23 million
12. Grenoble €18 million
13. Perpignan €16 million
14. Agen €13.8 million