West Ham United will have to wait until the end of the season to sign Lassana Diarra due to a FIFA regulation.
Diarra was released from his contract by Lokomotiv Moscow back in August and had been training with the Hammers with a view to a permanent move.
But the deal collapsed due to administration reasons leaving West Ham manager Sam Allardyce frustrated with the outcome of the situation.
"I have to say [with regard to Diarra] we have waited and we have negotiated for weeks to get the right deal and now we've got it, we find we can't get the right paperwork and the right clearance, so we have wasted his time and our time.
"On the basis of the situation we're in right now, he would have been a very crucial player for us between now and the end of the season," Allardyce told the club website.
The 29-year-old previously had spells at Arsenal, Chelsea and Portsmouth – a club he won the FA Cup with.
Diarra also had a trophy-laden spell at Real Madrid winning the La Liga title in 2011-12, and the Spanish Cup which came the season before.
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