"At this moment, all the agents involved in football have one priority, and it's not football", says Pedro Bravo, the president of the Spanish Association of Football Agents (AEAF), in a phone conversation with EFE. Health and concern over the advancement of the coronavirus pandemic prevail.

"This paralyzes a country, people are talking about deaths, also on a global level. We have all focused more on pandemic news than on other things", agrees Álvaro Torres, the general director of the football area at YouFirst agency.

Therefore, the work of the agents at the moment is closer to accompanying the player who, like the entire population, is confined to their home, but must try to maintain a state of fitness as close as possible to that of competition, in order to be ready when matches resume.

"We are insisting a lot for them to train, take care of their nutrition... That worries us a lot, we are also providing a lot of legal information about ERTEs (Temporary Employment Regulation Files)", says Torres. Bravo adds with a bullfighting analogy: "It's like having the bulls waiting to see if they can come out to the arena".

FINISHING LALIGA IS "EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE"

The uncertainty of a season interrupted by the health emergency affects not only the players and their representatives, but also the clubs.

"At a budgetary level, it changes a lot if the season ends or not. Basically, we are only negotiating contract renewals, although club budgets will almost certainly be reduced. We exchange information, but without taking steps", explains the football executive at YouFirst.

"Everything is absolutely paralyzed in terms of future decisions", adds Bravo, who observes that the clubs he is in contact with are "analyzing their squads and looking at players", but since this season has not concluded and they do not know which competitions they will play in the next one, they cannot take steps.

What is a general consensus is that finishing the competition is necessary. "Finishing LaLiga is extremely important for everyone: clubs, players, television, sponsors, agents, and fans. Even if it extends beyond June 30", says Álvaro Torres.

However, knowing when the competition will return is currently impossible. The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and LaLiga agreed this week that the suspension of the competitions would be maintained until the Government deems it safe to resume.

JUNE 30, END OF MANY CONTRACTS

Hence, a gray area arises: what happens to players whose contracts with their club expire on June 30 if the championship resumes with matches beyond that date.

"It's a very complicated issue, a problem," admits Torres. "They would have to extend their contracts by mutual agreement, it can be done for a series of matches, but the player who ends their contract will have in mind what happens if they get injured in those matches," he adds.

The complication is even greater for those players whose contracts expire at the end of June and who have reached an agreement with another club, as they are entitled to starting from January 1. "If they have already signed with another club, it will be difficult for them to play for their current club if they have a commitment for the following season," says Torres.

Pedro Bravo acknowledges that "the logical thing" would be to extend those contracts and for all parties to make "an effort of solidarity" in an unexpected circumstance, but warns that they are "contracts subject to labor law" in which a end date is set, usually June 30. "There would have to be some labor measure to postpone them," he adds.

ERTEs ALSO LOOM OVER FOOTBALL

Another aspect collateral to the economic and competitive standstill are the Temporary Employment Regulation Files (ERTE) that have arisen in all sectors, including football, especially in Second B and Third Division clubs, but it has also been considered in some of the LaLiga Smartbank and even at FC Barcelona, which announced it on Thursday.

Pedro Bravo recently experienced the case of Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, where it was rumored that this labor measure would be called, but it was finally not carried out.

"I have many players at Las Palmas, they called me alarmed right away," explains the association president. "It's true that it's a possibility that football clubs have, because production has been paralyzed," he adds.

Álvaro Torres, from YouFirst, admits that these measures "are worrying", and hopes they are reductions in working hours -"because otherwise, the players wouldn't even be able to train," he points out- but he also admits that the players "understand the situation" and in case they are implemented, "they have no voice or vote", like any worker.

SOLIDARITY AGAINST THE HEALTH EMERGENCY

The health emergency is also revealing the most supportive side of football players in many cases, as they are organizing initiatives, donating masks or medical protection equipment, and raising funds to financially support the fight against Covid-19.

At YouFirst, they experienced this situation first with the Spanish players they represent in Italy, the Spaniards Fabián Ruiz (Napoli), Luis Alberto Romero (Lazio), and Álex Berenguer (Torino). "They were the first to venture, they asked us how to do it, and all three have helped in some foundations,"

They are also doing the same with their clients in the Spanish league, such as the Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik (Sevilla), Gerard Moreno (Villarreal), Antonio Barragán (Betis), the Spanish-Colombian Luis Suárez (Zaragoza), the Colombian Bernardo Espinosa (Espanyol), with whom they are organizing video conferences with children who are patients in the oncology ward of a Sevillian hospital.

Pedro Bravo has been surprised by the supportive reaction of some of his clients. "There are players who are more supportive than others, but without mentioning names, I am proud of some of my players, they have surprised me... We have been in contact with some places, mainly with the Red Cross and other NGOs," he concludes.