Spanish football players threaten strike

By Al Goodman, CNN

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

League says it "doesn't understand" the players' call to strike
Players spokesman says 22 Spanish football clubs have had serious money problems
Spokesman says 300 players have filed complaints that they are owed back wages

Madrid, Spain (CNN) -- Football players from Spain's top two divisions vowed to go on strike at the start of the season if the team owners don't provide "guarantees" that hundreds of players who are owed back wages are actually paid, the players association announced on Thursday.

"We're not asking for more money. We're just asking to be paid what's due," Juanjo Montener, spokesman for the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) told CNN.

Association leaders, flanked by some of Spain's top football stars, such as Real Madrid goalie Iker Casillas and FC Barcelona defender Carles Puyol, held a news conference at a central Madrid hotel, vowing to strike but leaving the door open to further talks to try to resolve the dispute before the season opener scheduled for August 20.

But the Professional Football League (LFP), representing the clubs in first and second division football, issued a statement soon after saying it "doesn't understand" the players' call to strike.

The club owners said they had been negotiating in "good faith" with the players association and that club owners on August 3 established a new "guarantee fund" that would "guarantee some important quantities of the salaries of players affected" by club bankruptcy proceedings.

Montener said 22 Spanish football clubs in first and second division have had financial problems serious enough to involve bankruptcy or receivership proceedings. He said 300 players have filed complaints that they are owed back wages.

Spain's first division "Liga" is among the best in the world, and top players from South America and elsewhere in Europe often have lucrative contracts here. FC Barcelona is currently considered the best club team in the world, having won last May its second Champions League title in the past three years, again beating Manchester United for that title. Real Madrid is a perennial powerhouse and a potent global brand.

But below that top tier, it's a different story for many other clubs. Spanish media have reported for months about some other first division and many second division teams that have struggled to avoid financial red ink.

A three-year collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players expired recently and negotiations since then have been focused on a new deal.

The strike call by the players comes as Spain continues to be mired in a deep economic crisis, with 21 percent unemployment overall and a jobless rate of about 43 percent for young people. The Socialist government has called for early elections, scheduled for November.