Barca told to up bid for Arshavin

NYON // 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 (Dh84m) offer from Barcelona last week and is also thought to have attracted interest from Arsenal and Chelsea. A spokesman for Zenit upped the ante yesterday by claiming it will take £24m (Dh168m) 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.

* Reuters