Nani's demands for an "enormous salary" torpedoed the Manchester United midfielder's proposed move to Zenit St. Petersburg, the Russian champions' general director Maxim Mitrofanov told R-Sport on Thursday.
The disclosure suggests that Manchester United may have accepted a bid from Zenit for the Portuguese player, although Mitrofanov did not confirm this in comments comparing Nani to Brazil striker Hulk, who Zenit signed Friday.
“If Hulk had demanded €8 to €10 million a year, these conditions would have been unacceptable for Zenit," Mitrofanov said.
"The transfer of Nani failed mostly due to this reason, as he asked for an enormous salary.”
Nani has played 126 times for Manchester United since joining from his first club Sporting Lisbon in 2007.
He has 59 caps for Portugal and has scored 13 times for his country.
