Serie A giants Lazio offered an "inappropriate" 10 million euros for CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda, the army club's chairman Yevgeny Giner told RIA Novosti in a rare interview on Friday.
"Lazio's offer was inappropriate. For a long time Lazio talked to us about how they're doing us such a big favor by taking Honda off our hands, while at the same time we never had any plans to let him go and sell him," he said.
The Japan playmaker remains at CSKA after the European transfer window closed Tuesday following unsuccessful negotiations with the Rome club.
In his valuation of the 25-year-old, Giner said that he "not once did I ask anything near 16 million euros" that had been reported in Italian media, without elaborating.
Honda was in no hurry to leave the club, Giner added, but "I would have met Lazio half way and found a compromise, if the player had wanted to go. The extra million is hardly life or death and wouldn't stand in the way of the player's transfer."
He also confirmed the club had inquired with Cagliari about 23-year-old Belgian midfielder Radja Nainggolan, but was immediately put off by the club's 20 million euro price tag.
"We wanted Nainggolan, but the president of the club didn't even want to talk about any figure lower than 20 million. Honda is definitely no worse, but apparently is worth six million euros," Giner said, apparently referring to Lazio's initial offer for Honda.
CSKA have been the most active Russian club in the January transfer window, selling Brazilian forward Vagner Love to Flamengo and strengthening the squad with three players.
Last month, Sweden midfielder Pontus Wernbloom, 25, joined on a four-and-a-half-year contract from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, along with Nigerian teenage winger Ahmed Musa, who came, like Honda, from VVV-Venlo.
On Wednesday CSKA also announced the signing of little-known South Korean midfielder Kim In-Sung from the country's second division club Gangneung City FC.
Giner, who grants interviews extremely rarely and prefers to delegate public matters to general director Roman Babaev, said he had not considered blocking Vagner Love's departure, even with the knockout stages of the Champions League approaching.
"If I had asked him to stay and play for CSKA, he would have done that for me. ... Vagner played eight long years for us at CSKA, I think that's a good stint. That's why I let him go."
CSKA, who lie second in the Russian Premier League six points off Zenit St. Petersburg's lead, face Spanish giants Real Madrid in Moscow on February 21.
