With the goal race between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo hotting up, attention now turns to when their next La Liga goals are going to come.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has suspended all domestic football in the country indefinitely because of a new law approved by the government which aims to divide television money up more evenly between the top two divisions.
Messi edged ahead in the Champions League charts with his stunning double on Wednesday to give Barcelona a commanding 3-0 first-leg lead over Bayern Munich, as Ronaldo added to his tally in Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat against Juventus in Turin on Tuesday.
The Argentine has scored 10 goals in the Europe, one ahead of Ronaldo.
While Messi may lead the scoring in Europe, Ronaldo currently holds the advantage domestically, leading 42-40 in the race for the “Pichichi” — La Liga’s top goalscorer crown.
However, it’s not just the world’s two best footballers who will be affected by the television money stalemate. The RFEF says 600,000 players will be impacted across 17 regional federations, totaling 30,000 suspended matches.
The suspension — which comes into place from May 16 — could affect the final two match days of the season and even the domestic Spanish Cup final — the Copa del Rey — which is scheduled to be contested between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao on May 30.
If an agreement can’t be reached to enable the suspension to be lifted it could have serious repercussions for Barcelona as they chase silverware on three fronts.
The suspension is backed by the players’ union (AFE,) while the Spanish Football League (LFP) is siding with the government.
In a statement published on the RFEF’s website, they accuse the Spanish government of a “lack of respect” to Spanish football’s governing body.
Barcelona star Messi is supporting the strike, seemingly more concerned with reaching a suitable outcome than coming top of the scoring charts.
“That is something which AFE have said to us, they came here for a meeting with us,” Messi told a news conference ahead of the match with Bayern. “The players are with them in what they say.”
The government claimed the law was a “historic achievement” and that “Spanish soccer can reach levels of exploitation and sustainability that were unthinkable till now.”
Prior to the strike, there had already been concerns surrounding the Copa del Rey final being played just 11 days before the start of Copa America — Latin America’s major tournament — with national teams looking to call up players prior to the clash.
If the suspension isn’t resolved, many of La Liga’s top clubs could be without their star names for the final games of the season, including Messi — although Luis Suarez would still be available for Barcelona given he is still subject to an international ban after biting Giorgio Chiellini at last year’s World Cup.
The matches on the weekend of May 9 are scheduled to go ahead, as Real Madrid faces Valencia and Barcelona hosts Real Sociedad.
The Spanish government is yet to make a comment on the suspension.
