Lee has made 34 appearances for Spurs

Roma have been long-time admirers of the 29-year-old and Lee's agents claimed a deal was near to completion.

Any move to Rome for the South Korean international is now unlikely to happen before Thursday's transfer deadline.

Lee's agents said:"We held negotiations with AS Roma and neared the final stages of a deal but the signing was called off for personal reasons."

Earlier, the Global Sports and Entertainment Network had claimed: "Tottenham and AS Roma have agreed in principle to the transfer of Lee Young-Pyo.

"The deal as almost sealed, as the only remaining procedure is the player's decision."

Lee joined from PSV Eindhoven last August for an undisclosed fee and has made 34 appearances for Spurs.

He played at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and spent three years at PSV where he followed his former national team manager Guus Hiddink.

Roma are looking for a left-back as a replacement for Argentina international Leandro Cufre, who joined Monaco on Tuesday.