AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani has revealed that AS Monaco pulled out of a deal to sell Geoffrey Kondogbia to the Italian side.
The Serie A team are among a number of sides that are understood to have been chasing the defensive midfielder, including Arsenal and Inter Milan.
Galliani told Gazzetta dello Sport: "At 1.30 it was all done. Monaco had given us the all-clear for the sale at €40m (£28.6m) with payment spread over two years, €20m and €20m.
"The agreement with Geoffrey had already been sorted out the night before and was confirmed that same morning by him and his father. After we exchanged the documentation, at 1.30pm everyone disappeared. Evidently they changed their minds or the others offered more.
"A 'no' is more difficult to accept than a 'yes', but we cannot accept these figures. At times it requires more courage to get up and walk away from the table than to stay, so let's go."
Milan's rivals Inter are now rumoured to be leading the race to sign the France international.
Sian Cowper
