England's Ford signs new three-year deal with Sale2 days ago7 min read4 comments

In a move that signals Sale Sharks' serious ambitions to finally capture their first Premiership title since 2006, England fly-half George Ford has committed his future to the Manchester club with a new three-year deal, a signing that feels less like a routine contract extension and more like a statement of intent that reverberates through English rugby. At 32, Ford isn't just re-signing; he's doubling down on the project he joined in the summer of 2022, a period during which he has been nothing short of the team's metronome, orchestrating play with a consistency that draws immediate comparisons to legends like Jonny Wilkinson in his prime.With 44 appearances and a staggering 341 points for Sale, Ford has been the central cog in a machine that has remarkably been the only club to finish in the top four in each of the last three seasons, a testament to his profound influence. His journey with Sale has been one of near-misses and building pressure, culminating in the heartbreak of the 2023 final loss to Saracens, a defeat that surely fuels the fire for this renewed commitment.For any student of the game, Ford's value is quantifiable beyond the 30 points he's already racked up in the opening three games of the 2025-26 season; it's in the very structure of Sale's play, where his game management from the number 10 jersey has been the bedrock of their second, fourth, and third-place finishes in the regular-season table, a level of performance that makes his omission from the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia one of the great head-scratchers of the modern era, though it did serendipitously allow him to earn his emotional 100th England cap in the win over Argentina in La Plata. Now sitting on 102 caps since his 2014 debut and having recently served as co-captain on the summer tour, Ford's perspective is crystal clear: 'With the players and the coaches that we have here, I feel like I can still improve and be challenged as a player,' he stated, adding, 'I feel the best place for me to do that is right here.' This isn't just player-speak; it's the mantra of an athlete who understands that international glory with Steve Borthwick's England in the upcoming autumn internationals is directly tied to his club form, a point he hammered home by saying, 'I want to keep playing well for Sale Sharks and I want to keep influencing the team as much as I can. That comes first.I love playing for my country but I know that I only get that opportunity if I'm playing consistently well for Sale. So that's my focus.' From a tactical standpoint, Ford's decision is a masterstroke for Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson, who rightly hailed the re-signing as a monumental coup, noting that 'George is in the form of his life and he's a player we've built a team around. ' Sanderson's analysis cuts to the core of Ford's market value, revealing a truth that every top club in Europe knows: 'George could have his pick of any club in the world and he chooses Sale Sharks and that's big testament to us and what we're building.' This is the footballing equivalent of Lionel Messi choosing to stay at a club on the cusp of Champions League glory over a galactico move; it's a decision that attracts other top-quality players who want to learn from a master, solidifying Sale's status not just as contenders, but as a destination. The broader context here is a Premiership landscape crying out for a consistent challenger to Saracens' and Northampton's recent dominance, and in locking down a player of Ford's calibre, Sale have sent a shockwave through the league, proving that their sustained top-four finishes are no fluke but the foundation of a title-winning project. For Ford, this new deal is a chance to cement his legacy not just as one of England's greats, but as the architect who finally brought the Premiership trophy back to the AJ Bell Stadium, a narrative arc that promises to be one of the defining stories of the English club season.