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Trade talk: Curnow open to pay cut to engineer Carlton exit
Sam Edmund • September 2nd, 2025 8:55 am
Charlie Curnow is open to taking a pay cut in a bid to engineer a trade out of Carlton.
Blues coach Michael Voss insisted on SEN’s Fireball that Curnow, contracted until 2029, would not be released.
But as revealed on Sportsday, the forward is so eager to leave he would entertain a reduced deal over the remaining four years of his contract if it meant getting to a club like Geelong.
Sydney and Gold Coast have also been linked to the Blues’ two-time Coleman medalist, who has just left on an overseas holiday.
It remains to be seen what, if anything, these clubs can do to tempt Carlton in the trade period.
Curnow told the Blues in his recent exit meeting that he was “open” to a fresh start.
“Obviously from our position it was pretty clear, so we don’t feel like we’re in that position to want to go down that path,” Voss told SEN's Fireball.
“That position was well and truly communicated back to him and then from that point on we moved on to other topics, and talked about his year and how we can make him better and get back to that striking form he had only 12 months ago.”
Voss made it vehemently clear that the club will not answer the phone to listen to any offers for Curnow.
“No,” he said.
“Our position is pretty clear. It’s been stated - I don’t even know publicly whether we’ve said anything - but he’ll be at Carlton in 2026.
“Those discussions - if there are any others - we’ll continue to have behind closed doors.
“He’s a two-time Coleman medalist, it could have been three, who has four years to run on a contract. We feel like he’s an incredibly important person to us.
“He’ll figure for us moving forward and hopefully he’s playing out the rest of his career here.”
