Paris St Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has claimed Angel Di Maria wanted to move to the Parc des Princes, but the Ligue 1 champions could not agree a fee with Real Madrid.
The Argentinian winger sealed a British record £59.7million transfer to Manchester United last week, but Al-Khelaifi said PSG had in fact been his preferred destination.
"For two or three weeks I discussed this issue with my friend Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid," Al-Khelaifi said in an interview with Le Parisien.
"We met twice, we made an offer, but we did not agree on the price. For me it was too expensive. It has nothing to do with Financial Fair Play. The player wanted to come to Paris, but this was not possible."
The French side have invested hugely in players over the past couple of years, with the arrival of David Luiz from Chelsea this summer's marquee signing.
"The player wanted to come to Paris, but this was not possible" - PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi
Al-Khelaifi claimed Financial Fair Play (FFP) was not a fair rule and said his club would meet with UEFA to urge them to reconsider it.
"We want to respect the rules of UEFA," he said. "But we must discuss it again in October with them to try to change the rules.
"This is very important because Financial Fair Play is not fair. It is sometimes difficult to understand, but in the end, the big clubs are big clubs and small clubs remain small. It not only represents the interests of PSG.
"If new investors can not invest in football, they will invest in Formula One."
PSG, along with Premier League champions Manchester City, were handed a heavy fine in May for breaching FFP regulations.
