Leeds Rhinos ‘deal’ for cross-code convert ‘collapses’ with reasons outlined

An American Football player who claimed earlier this year he had an agreement to join Super League club Leeds Rhinos has revealed that his rugby league dream is over.

Cyrus Habibi-Likio caused a stir when he said this summer that he had been signed by a prominent rugby league agency, Pacific Sports Management, after being spotted in a try-out in Las Vegas ahead of the 2023 NRL event.

Habibi-Likio, who is a running back that has played for the University of Oregon, has also had trials with the San Francisco 49ers – but he revealed on his social media that he would be heading for Super League after the Rhinos apparently tabled him a deal to trial with the club.

“It all started in March when the NRL came from Australia to play in Las Vegas,” he said at the time.

“They had a tournament a few days before and I was asked to play in it. For all those who know me, I’m a football player, I’ve been playing football my entire life but I decided to try rugby league for the first time ever.

“I showed up, decided to play and did really well in my first game. As I was playing I got pulled to the side by an Australian agency called PSM. Apparently they were impressed with the way I was playing and told me to meet up with them.

“We talked about some contracts, what rugby league is, but this is all new to me. I just know how to get the ball and score touchdowns but in rugby league, they call them tries.

“I ended up signing with that agency and after that’s done, they go back to Australia. A few weeks later they hit me up saying there’s a professional contract to the Super League in England, and that team is the Leeds Rhinos.”

However, that deal is now off after Habibi-Likio took to his personal Instagram page to say: “Update on my rugby career. My agency and the team I was supposed to sign with couldn’t get my visa done.”

The situation was peculiar from the outset: not least because Leeds themselves knocked back any suggestions they had offered the player a contract – though his management were offering Habibi-Likio to Super League clubs.

And now, it seems whatever chance there was of a rugby league switch for the American Football player has now finally fallen through.