Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has questioned Brian Quinn’s claim that the annual wage bill at the club is £40m (€58.6m).
The Celtic Park chairman insists only five Barclays Premiership clubs spend more on salaries than the Glasgow giants.
But, after recently speaking with ex-Hoops’ contract manager Jim Hone, who is now with Fulham, the Parkhead boss is stunned at the figures being projected by Quinn.
O’Neill said: “I’m not going to get involved in an argument but there is not a prayer of the players’ wages here being remotely near the figure quoted.
“I’m never sure when people just pull a figure out of thin air and put it to you whether that sum regards every person at the club or just what the players’ wages are.
“A man who left this club to work in the Premiership, Jim Hone, told me our wage bill wouldn’t be in the top 12 of England.
“You have to ask how much money have we spent in the transfer market since the UEFA Cup final in Seville in 2003? Even including a loan fee for Henri Camara, it’s not a lot.
“But I’m not going down the road of conflict and have more important issues.”