Spanish football clubs owe million in unpaid wages to players

MADRID July 22 (Xinhua) -- The economic crisis in Spain is also affecting Spanish football clubs with the news on Tuesday that many players have not been paid.

The players union - La Asociacion de Futbolistas Espanolas (AFE) - has revealed they have received complaints from 233 players who have not received their payments for last season. That is more than at any time since 2003.

Six clubs who played last year in the Primera Liga owe a total of 21,712,823 euros, while 16 clubs from the Spanish second division have debts to their players of 16,752,553 euros and 53 from the Segunda B have to find 7,807,060 euros.

That is twice the amount of money owed to players in 2007, with Levante, who were relegated from the Primera Liga at the end of last season, the worst offenders with debts of over 16 million euros to their staff.

Levante's players threatened to go on strike over the non- payment of their wages towards the end of last season, however, to date it is the only club to have been named as an offender.

"Out of respect we are not naming anyone. The clubs have until July 31 to pay and the names of those who have not fulfilled the rules will be made public on July 30," AFE President Gerard Gonzalez Movilla told Diario AS.

Any side that has not cleared its debts to players by July 31 could be automatically relegated.