Kyle Lafferty: Kilmarnock say forward wanted wages 'four times higher'

Kyle Lafferty scored 13 goals in 13 games after joining Kilmarnock in February

Kilmarnock say Kyle Lafferty wanted to quadruple his wages after the forward claimed he did not want to leave.

Last month, relegated Killie indicated the 33-year-old Northern Ireland player was among those offered new deals.

The club then announced his exit but Lafferty was quoted as saying he aimed "to be a part of the bid to bounce straight back to the Premiership".

Now Kilmarnock say agents asked for Lafferty's wages to be "four times higher" than what he had been paid.

• Lafferty leads quartet out of Rugby Park

"At this point, we informed Kyle and his representatives that there was no possibility of agreeing to those terms, which would have had a monumental impact on the allocated first team budget for the season," the club said in a statement.

"Following further discussions and both parties remaining miles apart, it was clear that no deal could be struck and in order to continue our planning for 2021-22, talks were brought to a close."

Killie also dismissed Lafferty's suggestion players were given "hours" to decide on contract offers.

"Every player offered a contract for 2021-22 was given a period of several days in line with a deadline set by the club to decide whether they wished to accept our offer," the Championship club's statement added.