Football fat cats: Spain players to earn €720,000
Players with Spain's national football team will earn nearly $1 million in prize money each if the team wins the World Cup, a salary that is being slammed by some as a 'scandal' in crisis-hit Spain.
It turns out there's a lot more than just pride at stake in the upcoming World Cup in Brazil.
Along with the bragging rights that come with claiming back-to-back trophies, Spain's footballers will also come home a lot richer if they manage to win the final on July 13th — €720,000 ($980,000) richer to be exact.
That's more than twice what the Germans (€300,000) and the Brazilians (€330,000) will earn if they pull off the same feat, and 20 percent more than Spain's players earned for winning the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
They won't go home empty-handed if they don't win a second title either. There's €72,000 up for grabs if players make the last 16, €108,000 for a semi-final berth, and €144,000 for a spot in the final itself.
SEE ALSO: Rich list: Cashed-up Spanish sportsmen
"For us, it's an investment. We are sharing with the players what we are paid by FIFA," said the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
"Winning the World Cup brings in a lot of cash."
The RFEF gave up its public subsidies three years, and rakes in plenty of money from sponsors, but not everyone is happy about the sums going to the players of the team known as 'La Roja'.
"It seems we don't have a crisis in Spain, that we are living better than ever," said Josep Pedrerol in an editorial for Spain's La Sexta TV channel.
"Football gets people excited and makes them forget their problems, and that's all fine, but you have to keep your feet on the ground and act ethically.
"They (the players) are professionals — we accept that — but these figures mock the whole country."
Tell us what you think in the comments section below: are Spain's footballers paid too much?
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It turns out there's a lot more than just pride at stake in the upcoming World Cup in Brazil.
Along with the bragging rights that come with claiming back-to-back trophies, Spain's footballers will also come home a lot richer if they manage to win the final on July 13th — €720,000 ($980,000) richer to be exact.
That's more than twice what the Germans (€300,000) and the Brazilians (€330,000) will earn if they pull off the same feat, and 20 percent more than Spain's players earned for winning the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
They won't go home empty-handed if they don't win a second title either. There's €72,000 up for grabs if players make the last 16, €108,000 for a semi-final berth, and €144,000 for a spot in the final itself.
SEE ALSO: Rich list: Cashed-up Spanish sportsmen
"For us, it's an investment. We are sharing with the players what we are paid by FIFA," said the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
"Winning the World Cup brings in a lot of cash."
The RFEF gave up its public subsidies three years, and rakes in plenty of money from sponsors, but not everyone is happy about the sums going to the players of the team known as 'La Roja'.
"It seems we don't have a crisis in Spain, that we are living better than ever," said Josep Pedrerol in an editorial for Spain's La Sexta TV channel.
"Football gets people excited and makes them forget their problems, and that's all fine, but you have to keep your feet on the ground and act ethically.
"They (the players) are professionals — we accept that — but these figures mock the whole country."
Tell us what you think in the comments section below: are Spain's footballers paid too much?
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