Abu Dhabi: When Dan Carter says his house is the most expensive item he owns, it is a welcome reminder that some sportsmen value pragmatism over extravagance.
The New Zealand All Blacks fly-half will become the first rugby player to earn £1 million {Dh5.57m) a year when he heads to French Top 14 outfit Racing Metro after the Rugby World Cup, which takes place between September 18 and October 31.
However, do not expect the thoroughly unaffected Carter to splash out on a needless, narcisstic bust of himself, as Cristiano Ronaldo did last month. Neither, for that matter, is it likely that the 33-year-old will be copying Ronaldo’s decision to buy his agent a Greek island with his bountiful riches.
Will he find his lavish salary a burden, though?
“I’m not sure about highest-paid player, as I’m not exactly sure what I’m earning [laughs],” Carter replied, in an exclusive telephone interview with Gulf News ahead of the Rugby World Cup. “Look, to be honest, there’s crucial expectation every time you put on the jersey. There’s external pressure and your own standards.
“I just want to play rugby for as long as I can after 2015. I am lucky enough to have a couple more years in France, which will be an exciting new challenge for me.”
An impertinent, albeit necessary, question about his spending habits does not faze the unflappable Carter.
“What’s the most expensive item I own?” the all-time leading Test rugby points scorer with 1,516 continued. “Oh, jeez, probably the house that I live in. I just want to give my family security.
“It’s not such a long career, so I have saved and invested for my family’s future, which is the most important thing. This [career] is not forever, so you have to make the best of it.
“I am pretty blessed to have had such a long career and am still loving what I am going and I don’t want it to finish just yet.”
Carter is no stranger to France, having moved to Perpignan in 2008 for a year’s sabbatical, only for this to be cruelly curtailed when he tore his achilles tendon in January 2009.
Given that was six-and-a-half years ago, one priority purchase for the All Black will be French lessons.
“How’s my French? Pretty average, to be honest,” Carter said.
“I did tuition when I was there in 2009, but in the last six years, my French has dropped away. I’ll have a couple of lessons before I arrive and then, once I arrive, I’ll be forced to speak it while I am in France.”
