Chinese liquor company Kweichow Moutai is considering a sponsorship deal with Argentinian football team River Plate.
According to a report in Ole.com, Moutai is reported to be ready to pay around $3m (€2.6m) per season.
This falls short of the $5m per season River Plate was originally hoping to earn from its new shirt sponsor.
Ole.com reports that River has been without a shirt sponsor for more than a year. With local marketing budgets tight, it has struggled to get a brand to meet its asking price.
An offer from Banco Supervielle was rejected as it was too low. The club also had talks with Turkish Airlines but was unable to reach a deal.
Kweichow Moutai is a partial publicly traded, partial state-owned enterprise in China, specialising in the production and sales of Moutai liquor, and has been listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange since 2001.
According to reports, senior executives of Kweichow Moutai visited River Plate in mid-April, with a delegation led by the president and general manager of the brand, Li Baofang.