Roman Shirokov was happy to go back to his home club despite a lower salary, said CSKA Moscow owner Evgeny Giner.

      According to the Sovetsky Sport daily, the 34-year-old midfielder will earn about a quarter of his salary back at FC Spartak Moscow which he left after the owner decided not to extend the contract with the controversial player.

      Shirokov signed a contract with CSKA on February 9.

      Earlier, there’ve been many rumours on his future career.

      FC Krasnodar coach declined to give any specific comments on the possible move of the midfielder from Spartak Moscow where he played on loan after falling out with the previous Spartak Moscow coach, Murat Yakin.

      Spartak Moscow kept him on the bench to prevent an automatic extension.

      Shirokov returned to Spartak after the club signed on as chief coach Dmitry Alenichev.

      According to an interview with Arsen Minasov, who represents the interests of Shirokov, the player decided to stick to the contract despite Spartak’s bleak season which cost it a spot in Europa League.

      Krasnodar finished third and has been playing in Europe’s second-rank tournament.

      Shirokov has been known as a stubborn character – he left FC Zenit St Petersburg after a row with Luciano Spalletti.

      The star underwent a surgery in Finland, missing the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and many pundits blamed the national team’s poor performance on his absence.

      Previously, Spalletti fell out with another midfielder, Igor Denisov, who had to move to Anzhi Makhachkala, and later to Dynamo Moscow, after he demanded a pay rise.

      The hell broke loose after Gazprom, Zenit’s main sponsor, splurged 100 million euro on two foreign players, Hulk and Axel Witsel. Hulk’s salary was reported to be higher than those of Zenit’s old-timers like Shirokov, Denisov and Kerzhakov. The situation inside the team deteriorated, with the club finishing second in Premier League last season.