Andres Iniesta's move to Chongqing Lifan in China is in doubt due to the size of his salary.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported last Thursday that Iniesta had an offer on the table for three years and a total of €81 million ($96 million) after taxes.
In a statement on Chinese social media service Weibo, the club's president, Jiang Lizhang, said that while they had an "in-depth cooperation" with Iniesta for marketing purposes, that did not mean Iniesta would play for the club.
Lizhang also wrote that the club would "adhere to rational investment" and Chinese Football Association rules, which imposes a salary cap and strict rules on foreign players and transfers.
Iniesta could instead end up in Japan.