Roberto Jiménez defends LaLiga’s financial controls by recalling unpaid wages

“Financial controls? I lived through a time when you had to take your club to court to get paid,” Roberto Jiménez said. The head of LaLiga’s Player Office linked the debate over financial regulation to an experience he witnessed as a footballer, as the employers’ association and AFE are due to face each other in court today.

Jiménez, who leads LaLiga’s Player Office and will reach one year in the role in December, spoke before the court rules on the dispute between the two sides. The disagreement concerns whether Futbolistas ON should sit at the collective-agreement negotiating table: the employers’ association says it should, while AFE takes the opposite position. The court is due to decide today which side is right.

The dispute centres in part on the required level of representation. LaLiga relies on the current collective agreement, which sets the threshold for taking part in negotiations at 5%. Futbolistas ON exceeded that level in the latest elections held in the dressing rooms of Primera and Segunda. AFE secured 93%. The union led by David Aganzo, meanwhile, argues that the criteria set out in the Ley del Deporte should take precedence; that law sets the threshold for joining negotiations at 10%.

Jiménez says LaLiga’s position is not about giving particular support to Futbolistas ON. He says the organisation is defending freedom of association, which he describes as a workers’ right. He also calls his relationship with David Aganzo, whom he has known for a long time, “very good”, while noting that the two sides are now involved in a court case.

Beyond the legal dispute, Jiménez explains the role he wants to play for players. He says he aims to maintain regular contact with players and clubs, with a greater focus on players, and to give footballers a recognisable point of contact within LaLiga. In his view, the competition has a responsibility to stay close to its players and provide whatever assistance they need.

The official says he joined LaLiga determined not to compromise his principles or his perspective as a footballer. He believes that understanding the reasons behind the organisation’s decisions and initiatives has led him to defend its model. To move forward, he adds, players need to understand the football ecosystem better; that, he says, would encourage more objective opinions and greater mutual understanding.

Training, career transition and how to respond to hate attacks are also among the areas he says receive particular attention. Jiménez says players have responded well to LaLiga’s initiatives and value the proposals. He also describes the fixture calendar as a serious problem, while stressing that LaLiga did not create it.