Football
Ian Holyman, France correspondent 8y

Lassana Diarra's demands led to deal breaking down - Galatasaray chief

Galatasaray have claimed that the club cooled their interest in a summer move for Lassana Diarra due to the Marseille midfielder's extravagant wage demands.

Diarra, 31, was one of OM's stand-out performers last season, recapturing the form that had convinced clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Real Madrid to sign him in the past. That form earned him a recall to the France squad for Euro 2016, although he eventually missed the tournament through injury.

His displays prompted interest from a number of clubs including Galatasaray but the Istanbul outfit's sporting director, Levent Nazifoglu, claimed he would have been facing a dressing-room revolt had he accepted Diarra's conditions for joining them.

"They asked for some very strange things," Nazifoglu told Hurriyet. "Demands that would have created jealousy among the other players to whom we didn't offer that.

"He said to me: 'I want a house whose monthly rent is €30,000 and two cars worth at least €150,000.'

"We refused. We didn't even start to negotiate."

Diarra has remained at Marseille, and has even been named club captain following Steve Mandanda's departure for Crystal Palace, leading the side in all three of their Ligue 1 fixtures so far this season.

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