Sevilla have ended their pursuit of Inter forward Stevan Jovetic due to being unable to match the ‘transfer fee and wage demands’ set by the Italian club.
The 27-year-old – who netted six times in 21 appearances for Los Rojiblancos – has a €14m release clause at the Italian club and is reportedly now a target for French giants Marseille.
“It’s a bit of everything and not just one reason,” Sevilla director of sport Oscar Arias – who replaced Monchi earlier this year – told ABC de Sevilla.
“We could handle a higher wage than what we’re offering now, but only if we didn’t have to pay a transfer fee. Or, the other way round, we could pay the fee if the player’s wage demands weren’t so high.
“In our business model, we must keep costs contained. We don’t have the wage budget of a Manchester City, Barcelona, Chelsea or Real Madrid.
“We can make an effort, as we did with Jovetic, but always within the parameters. We must be realistic and admit that at times some things simply cannot be.
“It’s a complicated situation, as the player earns very high wages and Inter are asking for an equally high transfer fee. We are not ready to, nor capable of, taking on such a burden. We’ve already reached our limit.
“If it cannot be, then it cannot be… we wish Stevan good luck for his future career and now seek an alternative.”
