Inter Milan say no agreement has been reached with Chelsea over the transfer of Argentina striker Hernan Crespo to Stamford Bridge.
The Italian giants had representatives in London today negotiating with the Premiership side, whose Russia billionaire owner, Roman Abramovich, has spent £75 million sterling so far.
When told of reports in England that Inter had agreed to accept £16.5 million for the player, Marco Branca, Inter Milan's sporting director, said: "There is absolutely no agreement with Chelsea over the transfer of Hernan Crespo."
Speaking from Heathrow Airport, Branca said: "We (Branca and technical director Gabriele Oriali) are returning to Milan today.
"We are very calm. There have been no major movements. We will have to wait a couple of days to see if its either everything, or nothing."
However, Inter's Italian international striker, Christian Vieri, who himself had been linked with Chelsea, is furious at the club's interest in selling Crespo.
He told the daily Gazzetta dello Sportthat he would rather Inter released him if they were in the business of selling.
"If the club have to sell Crespo I would prefer they sell me, it would be better if they sold me," said the Italy international.
"What am I doing here, staying at Inter to finish another time in second or third or fourth place?
"What are we doing? Instead of reinforcing we are weakening. Inter sold Ronaldo and in his place bought Crespo and now they are selling him. It is better to sell me, really, once and for all," said Vieri.
"Certain (Inter) directors need to stay far away from me because if I lost it for five minutes I'd have them all nailed to a wall," he added.