French Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyon have rejected a 5 million euro bid from Russia’s Rubin Kazan for midfield playmaker Kim Kallstrom as insufficient, Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas said Thursday.
If a deal is struck before the Russian transfer window closes Friday, the Swedish international would be eligible to help Rubin challenge for the European places over the 14 remaining games of the Russian Premier League season.
“The offer from Rubin Kazan was 5 million euros up front, to which we responded that this is not the market value,” Aulas said in a conference call to announced Lyon’s financial results.
He said that Rubin had promised the player “a net salary two to three times higher than Kallstrom receives at Lyon.”
The Russian club made the bid Wednesday and Rubin president Dmitry Samarenkin had flown to France on his private plane to take part in the negotiations, Aulas said.
Kallstrom, 29, joined Lyon in 2006 from French rivals Rennes, and has since played 164 league games, scoring 25 goals, and winning the French title twice.
He has been a regular in the Swedish national side since winning his first cap in 2001, and has appeared 86 times for his country, scoring 15 goals.
Rubin Kazan sit fifth in the Russian Premier League, ten points behind leaders Zenit St. Petersburg.
