AEK Athens have walked away from their pursuit of Kings Kangwa, ONE reports, after Hapoel Beersheba refused a Greek request that would have kept the Zambian midfielder out of Israel's Champions League qualifier in Reykjavik.

According to the report, AEK wanted Kangwa's move finalised before Beersheba's second qualifying round tie against Vikingur Reykjavik — with one condition attached: that he not take the field for the Israeli champions in that game.

The reasoning was purely technical. Under UEFA's rules, a player who appears for one club in a European tie becomes cup-tied and cannot then turn out for another club later in the same competition. AEK wanted Kangwa available for their own playoff-round campaign, and playing for Beersheba against Vikingur would have ruled that out.

Beersheba said no. ONE reports the club confirmed Kangwa would be part of the squad for the Icelandic trip regardless of the transfer talk, even knowing that stance risked costing them a deal already in an advanced state.

Notably, the sticking point was not money. ONE's report indicates AEK's financial offer had already met, or bettered, what Beersheba were asking — a shift from earlier in the saga, when Israeli outlets reported the two sides sitting several million euros apart.

Kangwa, 27, is understood to have already agreed personal terms with the Greek club and had been pushing his employers to sanction the switch quickly. Once Beersheba held firm on playing him, AEK pulled the offer without further negotiation, per the report.

AEK's director of football, Javier Ribalta, will now turn to other midfield targets, ONE says, ending — for now — a transfer saga that has run through much of the Israeli club's summer.

Beersheba had already turned down two other bids for Kangwa earlier this summer, from clubs in Russia and the Czech Republic, insisting throughout that any departure would have to meet their valuation of the player.

The episode lands on a significant night for the club. Hapoel Beersheba, Israel's reigning Premier League champions, are facing Vikingur Reykjavik for the first time ever in this Champions League qualifying round, having also lost 3-1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv in last week's Israeli Super Cup.

For now, Kangwa remains a Beersheba player — and, by his own club's insistence, an eligible one for continental duty tonight.