Valencia have now announced that striker David Villa is not for sale at any price, according to the player’s agent.
The 27-year-old Spain international had been expected to move to Real Madrid or Barcelona this summer, while Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool have also been linked.
However, his agent, Jose Luis Tamargo, has now issued a statement saying Valencia are no longer willing to allow him to leave.
"Valencia CF, through [chief executive] Javier Gomez and later [club president] Manuel Llorente, allowed me to work in putting David Villa on the market as his representative,” he said.
“They had to sell him to help their difficult economic situation and gave me the conditions they required to complete the transfer.
“David has always been wholly committed to the club despite the poor economic situation at Valencia but, because David is a world-class player, we have received offers from the four best teams in the world.
"I am upset because Valencia have changed their position and said that they do not want to sell the player despite, as you all know, having held negotiations with three of the four major clubs.
“This is a very unpleasant situation and is not good for anyone. It should be remembered that David has always said that he is very happy at Valencia.
“We went into the market and now arrive at a sad situation, leaving with our tails between our legs.
“It was not worth the damage that could have been done to both Valencia CF and David Villa and we have to take into account the fact that situation is more frustrating given that he is currently playing in the Confederations Cup with the Spanish team in South Africa.
“It is very sad.”
Villa had said in his post-match comments after Spain's victory over Iraq that he knew where he would be playing next season, and Tamargo added in As: "He didn't say anything about playing for Real Madrid.
"That was something between me and him. We won't go into that."