MOSCOW, July 28 (R-Sport) – AC Milan's attempts to sign midfielder Keisuke Honda from CSKA Moscow have reached deadlock, the Russian champions' club president Yevgeny Giner said Sunday.
Talks over the future of the 27-year-old Japanese international, whose contract runs out in December, have dragged on for weeks.
“I don't like it when somebody treats us like country bumpkins,” Giner said. “Yes, Mr. Galliani [Milan vice president] is a big boss and Milan is a big club, but I must say that in the winter Honda will receive much better offers with bigger salaries from a lot of clubs.”
Giner said the ongoing saga was not affecting Honda's performances.
“The Italians are trying to put pressure on us, writing in the press that he lost motivation at CSKA,” said Giner. “But look at the last two games against Krylya Sovetov and Lokomotiv, and everything will straighten out.”
The Japanese playmaker scored two goals as CSKA beat Zenit St. Petersburg 3-0 in the Russian Super Cup earlier this month, and scored from a free kick in Sunday's 2-1 defeat of Lokomotiv Moscow.
A source at Milan told R-Sport earlier this month that Honda had already agreed a contract with the Serie A side.
Honda joined CSKA from Dutch team Venlo in 2010 and helped the side to the league and cup double last season, adding those trophies to the Russian Cup he won in 2011.
He has 44 caps for Japan, scoring 15 goals, the most recent of which earned the team the spot at the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
