Champion French rugby side Toulon wants to ditch the domestic competition and play in the English Premiership.
Billionaire president Mourad Boudjellal, who has former All Blacks Ma'a Nonu and Tom Taylor on his books, has sent an email to Premiership bosses proposing the move from the Top 14.
Boudjellal has made public his frustrations with the Top 14, related to the salary cap and bonus payments, and insists he's serious about the approach.
"If this is not possible the next season, maybe the one after that," Boudjellal told French newspaper L'Equipe.
"For them [the English], besides a big first, it would be a huge added value. And I'm serious in my approach."
Any move would require the approval of the English Rugby Football Union, who have said they have not been contacted by Boudjellal.
Rugby union is familiar to cross-border competitions, with Italian clubs playing in the Pro12 league against Welsh, Irish and Scottish opposition.
This is also backed up by Super Rugby, with the inclusion of a Japanese and Argentine club joining the New Zealand, Australia and South African competition.
But given the complications of Boudjellal's push, observers of the game say the move appears unlikely to happen.
The Top 14 clubs have a larger salary cap at 10 million Euros (NZD$16.6m), compared to England's 6.7 million Euros (NZD$11.14m).
Toulon's expensively-assembled squad is packed with world stars like Bryan Habana, Matt Giteau, Ma'a Nonu, Leigh Halfpenny, Quade Cooper, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Duane Vermeulen.
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