European Football

By Chris Baldwin

MOSCOW, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Russia playmaker Andrei Arshavin said he would gladly take a pay cut to play abroad but Zenit St Petersburg were making his departure increasingly difficult, a Russian newspaper reported on Friday.

"I really wanted to, and still want to, leave. But my club, which didn't want to let me go in the first place, is doing everything possible so that it doesn't happen," Friday's Sport Express quoted Arshavin as saying.

He led Russia to the Euro 2008 semi-finals and Zenit to their first UEFA Cup triumph in May but made no secret his desire to move to Barcelona. However, Zenit rejected a 15 million euro ($22.75 million) bid from the Catalan club in July.

Tottenham Hotspur then stepped into the picture and started negotiations with the 27-year-old, who added:.

"Only then my transfer fee grew. I don't know where I heard what amount Zenit's president mentioned, but it was huge. I was told 27 million (euros). That much scared everybody off right away," Arshavin said.

"I can only say that if I go abroad, I will earn less than I get in Russia," he said, adding he had not yet given up hope of joining Premier League club Tottenham.

Zenit coach Dick Advocaat in an interview with Rossisskaya Gazeta newspaper said he wanted Arshavin to stay in Russia but a move to Europe was understandable and natural.

"First of all, we all want him to stay at Zenit. But in general, of course, a good move could be a step forward in his career. Andrei has been playing for Zenit for seven years," Advocaat said.

Arshavin earns three million euros per year at Zenit, the highest salary in Russia's league, according to local media.

"There is European interest in a lot of Russian players. (Roman) Pavlyuchenko, (Pavel) Pogrebnyak, (Alexander) Anyukov, (Yuri) Zhirkov. But in the fight to exit the only one still fighting is me. Getting out of the Russian league is not so easy," Arshavin said.