Mpumalanga  Black Aces approached AmaZulu to exchange franchises and not the other way round, sources at Usuthu have claimed.

This after an apparent attempt to save face by AmaZayoni following a deal between the clubs being blocked by the PSL.

The PSL yesterday officially announced it would not allow the sale by Aces of their top-flight status to AmaZulu, who were relegated to the National First Division.

This could set a new precedent from the PSL, who have not turned down similar deals in the past, though have increasingly frowned on them for making a mockery of the promotion-relegation system. Aces pre-empted the PSL announcement with a statement on their website on Wednesday titled "Aces not for sale". It read: "When we were approached by AmaZulu to purchase the Aces PSL status, we were always aware this agreement was subject to the approval of the PSL executive committee."

However, sources at AmaZulu said it was Aces who started the process. They also said the figure negotiated was nowhere near the widely reported R82-million, and was in fact somewhere below R50-million.

Aces chairman Mario Morfou yesterday denied his club approached Usuthu. "People must ask themselves why a club that is in the PSL would approach a club that's just been relegated to buy their NFD status," he said.

"It wouldn't have made sense for me to do that, and if that is the case then why aren't Aces going to another NFD club offering our status to them?" He added: "I can't give figures but it was a really good offer."

The PSL's Brand de Villiers said they threw out the deal simply on constitutional grounds. "The application did not comply with our rules. It's as simple as that and there's nothing more to it."

AmaZulu coach Steve Barker said he did not believe the status deal saga derailed his team's pre-season preparations. "I always maintained we only started training this week Monday because the NFD only starts on August 22," Barker said.