Zenit St Petersburg have told Barcelona to double their offer for Andrei Arshavin.
The Russians remain determined to keep their star forward, who was subject to a reported £12million offer from Barcelona last week and is also thought to have attracted interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.
A spokesman for Zenit upped the ante on Tuesday by claiming it will take £24million to prise Arshavin, who starred for his country at Euro 2008, from the UEFA cup holders.
'We have had only one firm offer for Andrei and that came from Barcelona,' said Pavel Pivovarov, head of administrative and legal affairs for Zenit, at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
'We have not accepted it but if they double it, we would consider selling.'
Arshavin's agent Dennis Lachter says his client would prefer to move to England but insisted it would only be for a club in the Champions League.
'Andrei would like to play in the Premier League but he will not accept an offer from clubs like Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa,' he told the Daily Telegraph.
'There are only four British clubs he would play for and they are in the Champions League.
'It's not about money, it's about a team and professional ambition. Zenit is negotiating with several clubs.
'We are now waiting for a phone call from Zenit president Alexander Dyukov to allow us to negotiate his personal terms with one of them. It's most likely he will be heading for England.'
The Russians remain determined to keep their star forward, who was subject to a reported £12million offer from Barcelona last week and is also thought to have attracted interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.
A spokesman for Zenit upped the ante on Tuesday by claiming it will take £24million to prise Arshavin, who starred for his country at Euro 2008, from the UEFA cup holders.
'We have had only one firm offer for Andrei and that came from Barcelona,' said Pavel Pivovarov, head of administrative and legal affairs for Zenit, at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
'We have not accepted it but if they double it, we would consider selling.'
Arshavin's agent Dennis Lachter says his client would prefer to move to England but insisted it would only be for a club in the Champions League.
'Andrei would like to play in the Premier League but he will not accept an offer from clubs like Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa,' he told the Daily Telegraph.
'There are only four British clubs he would play for and they are in the Champions League.
'It's not about money, it's about a team and professional ambition. Zenit is negotiating with several clubs.
'We are now waiting for a phone call from Zenit president Alexander Dyukov to allow us to negotiate his personal terms with one of them. It's most likely he will be heading for England.'
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