This week LaLiga returns and the protagonists come back to be footballers. And a conflict, because the season will not end on June 30, but it will invade July, and even August for European competitions. The loose fringe is that many players (and coaches) are contract ends wave assignment at the end of this month. What will happen to them? This is working (and almost all they have fixed) for two months against the clock, because there are many edges …
To get started, Contracts are strictly a labor matter, so neither FIFA, LaLiga nor the Federation have the power to extend them, because the rights of the worker prevail. But they can make it easier for teams to enjoy these players until the end of the course. For example, not opening the transfer market on July 1. So, If a player prefers not to extend his contract and leave, he will know that he cannot be registered by any team until the next campaign begins. AND If a club wants to redeem a loan, they will not be able to use or relocate it in July.
So, many situations have already been resolved in a very friendly way, but some others will be decided with the competition already resumed. I mean, there will be coaches who they will be able to count on some soccer players during the first five days and then they may or may not. Many LaLiga clubs are still negotiating at this time. In second, Where economic constraints and uncertainty are greatest, is where they are seeing the most difficulties in reaching agreements. And more in a context of many ERTE in which we have also had to negotiate.
Cessions: negotiating with the footballer and the club
Except for Barça, all First and Second teams have at least one footballer in this situation of 30J. Most are transfers, so each entity has had to enter into conversations with the player himself and with his club of origin. The most concerned of all was Leganés, who is risking salvation with 12 players on loan. The club pepinero has the approval of the clubs that have given him players (four from Sevilla, with whom he will face on July 1) and will have no problem keeping them for a few more weeks through an annex to the contract. Espanyol, bottom, also saw nine players in that limbo (four on loan and five that end the contract), but has reached agreements with all of them individually.
Odegaard, Carrasco, Rafinha, Jaume Costa, Reguilón, Roque Mesa, Gallego … Except for an unexpected turn, practically all the loaned will end the season where they were before this crisis. In the absence of a precise legal framework, most clubs are not failing. At the end of the day it is a situation that in one way or another affects everyone (Barça and Athletic do not have any loan on their staff, but all 42 clubs have their own players spread over other teams), although some have put on the table the option of receiving a financial consideration for this extra month. In First there are 68 players on loan; In Second they are 145.
Second Division: less income, more doubts
In LaLiga Smartbank there has been talk with footballers and generally there has been understanding in exceptional circumstances. Malaga, for example, has been announcing (and thanking) the agreements with its players. Luis Muñoz, Lombán, Aarón, Sadiku and Buenacasa have extended their contract “until the end of the work” without charging a bonus. Not so Mikel Villanueva. With him, the lack of news already seems like news: it is not expected to continue beyond the 30th.
In Second there were a few cases that could have become a serious problem for the competition. For example, Ponferradina and Mirandés could have lost 21 footballers. Fuenlabrada, at 20, and in fact has let Biel Ribas out. The goalkeeper did not agree to extend his contract and reached an agreement with the club, but to disengage. There are soccer players who are clear that at the end of this season they are going to change their air (because they do not count or by their own decision), but they have not yet signed with anyone. And they have doubts about whether to stop on June 30 or play in July, at the risk of possible injury, for example.
Haggling to the limit
Not only do players hesitate, it also happens to clubs. In Second there are several who are looking for a way to save expenses in these negotiations, well haggling to the clubs that have yielded to the players or with these same. They are rushing, but there is very little left for the competition to start and the end of the month is approaching …
“There are professionals who finished on June 30 and we do not know what happens to us. If we continue working, if not, if we are going to do another month …”, commented Paco Jémez, Rayo technician, on Radio Nacional. Why in addition to footballers, there are many First and Second coaches whose future is also in the air. And running out of a coach at that point would be a setback.
Change of plans: Aduriz, Garay, Orellana …
In First there is a case that the pandemic has completely disrupted the plans. A footballer who will not only not play beyond day 30, but has made the decision to retire: Aduriz. Obviously it was not a matter of contract, because although it was known that it was his last season his idea was to endure, but an injury that leaves him without his desire to play the Cup final.
In Valencia there is the Garay case, which also ends on June 30. It also turns out that the footballer is recovering from a long-term injury, but the club-footballer relationship is very deteriorated. The central accuses Valencia of discrediting him and everything points to the fact that, with the change of calendar, he is not even going to finish the season.
The issue is also unclear in Eibar. Mendilibar has six footballers who have finished a contract and does not know how many they can count on from July 1. The fans were very uneasy with a photo that Orellana uploaded to their social networks. In it the Chilean goes out with several colleagues in a bar and this message: “They will be missed. 06/30/2020.” It has been understood as a sign that that day will end your adventure as an armourer player, although there are still several games ahead …
The photo of farewell? de Orellana on instagram.
Banega, for example, has already signed a contract with the Saudi Al Shabab, where he will arrive as a free player for 20-21. The question remained whether his new club would claim him from July 1, but the Argentine has set himself one last challenge at Sevilla: “It would be a dream to say goodbye with a title.” That is, the Europa League in August.
Dilemmas for the coach
AND What does a coach do in these first days with a player he has, but who is not clear if he will be from July 1? They could be the aforementioned cases of Villanueva (Málaga) and Orellana (Eibar), for lack of confirmation. Technicians have to think about rotations and assess all these assumptions. Or it could happen the opposite case: a team that, while negotiating with the players, wins several games in June and almost achieves its objective, so it loses interest to sign that extra month of contract …
Learning for the future
What has happened this year is something absolutely exceptional, but sports directors and officers are drawing conclusions for future contracts, which will try to include clauses for similar situations. For example, that the papers no longer appear on June 30, but that they are by seasons.