Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has rubbished Lassana Diarra's claims that he turned down bigger money at Eastlands to sign with Real Madrid.

"That statement surprised me," said Hughes. "We were made aware of what level the deal was at and what it would take to bring the boy to the club.

"In the end, we understood the figures and felt it wasn't right for us. We never made an offer for Lassana Diarra and we weren't given permission to speak to him so, for him to say we offered him more money, is completely wrong."