The sale of the Kremikovtzi steelworks by Pramod Mittal will have no effect on the CSKA Sofia football club, also owned by the Indian businessman, its chairman Alexander Tomov said.

Tomov, who manages Mittal's two major assets in Bulgaria, told the club's website cska.bg the steel mill and the football club were separate matters.

"CSKA is not for sale and is not part of the deal being negotiated for Kremikovtzi. It's only goal is to win the title," said Tomov.

Since November 2007, media reports in Bulgaria have speculated that Mittal was preparing to exit his two Bulgarian investments, linking Kremikovtzi's sale to the sale of Bulgaria' most successful club, possibly to previous owner Vassil Bozhkov.

Some reports have accused Mittal of not investing enough in the club, which owed money to its players in unpaid wages, but Tomov has rubbished that as well.

"This is the most expensive squad in the league and the players have big wages. Some of them make more money than big company executives and all payments are up to date," he told the club website.