Christian Petracca ripped over 'delusional' move as AFL star confirms commitment to Demons

Leading AFL reporter Damien Barrett has labelled Christian Petracca "delusional" for thinking he could force his way out of the Melbourne Demons via a trade. The Demons released a statement on Saturday night announcing that Petracca had re-committed his future to the club after weeks of speculation he wanted out.

Petracca is said to have told the Demons he'd prefer to play at another club in 2025, with Collingwood and Carlton emerging as potential trade suitors. But it soon emerged that a deal was never going to get done due to Petracca's price tag and the number of draft picks the Demons would have wanted in return.

On Saturday night, the Demons revealed that Petracca had agreed to stay and see out the remainder of his deal. "Over the last few weeks, there's been a lot of speculation regarding my role at the Melbourne Football Club," Petracca said in a statement.

"This has occurred as part of the end-of-year review process, in which I voiced my concerns as a leader, wanting better for our club, playing group, and fans. During this time, I have been in open communication with the player leadership group and club leaders to ensure we can work together to improve as a club.

"I make no apologies for wanting to better our club and contribute to our success both on and off the field. I love my footy - it remains my number one priority and always has been. As for my future at the Melbourne Football Club, I remain committed to playing for the red and the blue."

But discussing the situation on the Sunday Footy Show, Barrett said Petracca was kidding himself if he ever thought the Demons would agree to trade him. "This is a circus that unfolded in the past two or three weeks as Christian himself chose to let this play out in a very, very public media sense," Barrett said.

"There were five years remaining on a contract and the delusional element of this whole saga was partially driven by Christian himself. How a currency from one of those big clubs was ever going to be able to get this deal done...it was never going to happen."

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Did Christian Petracca realise a trade wasn't possible?

Barrett said Petracca "got wind" of the fact no club could afford to bring him over and realised he'd have to stay. "No deal could possibly be done for him on as much as $1.7 million on that deal that remains until the end of 2029," Barrett added.

Petracca has reportedly been unhappy with the culture at the Demons and the final straw came when none of his teammates were properly informed of how much he was struggling mentally after his traumatic ordeal in recent months. Teammates were said to be unhappy that he spent so much time away from the club and on holidays with fiancee Bella, but didn't realise how much his injuries suffered against Collingwood had affected him.

Petracca suffered broken ribs, a lacerated spleen and punctured lung, and Bella was told by doctors that he might not make it. Barrett declared on Sunday: "I fully acknowledge the trauma that Christian Petracca has been through physically and more so mentally, from the King's Birthday hit from Darcy Moore. I get all that. But there's been an immaturity in my eyes attached to his dealings in the past two weeks and maybe a whole lot longer."

Kane Cornes also questioned why Petracca went down the route of requesting a trade when he didn't even know if a rival club could get a deal done. "It was never going to happen," Cornes said.