RENTON — Although the players are not backing off their calls for a more fair share of the Club World Cup prize pool, Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei seemed to indicate that they are looking to possibly dial down the temperature in the meantime.
As of Thursday afternoon, the players had still not received a proposal from the league to alter the CBA that currently gives them $1 million of the guaranteed $9.55 million that FIFA is giving each MLS team, but Frei was willing to be a little more patient.
“Our message on the weekend was to try to get a point across that we want to sit down and talk,” Frei told reporters following Thursday’s training session. “I think we made that point, and I think it was received. We’re kind of giving a little bit of grace, a little bit of space to respond, if you will, and hopefully we can be constructive and move forward.”
In that vein, Frei said he had reached out to Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer in an attempt to clear the air. Following the players’ pregame protest that included wearing shirts that read “Club World Ca$h Grab”, Hanauer reportedly expressed his disappointment in players during a profanity-laced postgame address.
If Hanauer took the protest as being aimed at him, Frei clarified that wasn’t the case.
“We’re going to try to sit down and make sure that we can all find a bit of common ground to see where everybody’s coming from,” the Sounders captain said. “Maybe we could have done things a little better on both sides to make sure that we are coming to solution that works for everyone.”
Frei also suggested that perhaps it would have been better if he had gone directly to Hanauer before the players made such a public display.
“I’ve gone through probably about six CBAs at this point,” Frei said. “We never had an instance where there was communication between owners and players directly in those situations. We’ve had unions, and we’ve had their representatives. Maybe that was the naivety or the error in our ways that maybe we didn’t realize that in this situation there could be more direct and personal ways to engage.
“Hopefully things can progress and everybody can be happy.”
None of that means the players are ready to back off their underlying complaints, and if that meant “ruffling some feathers” Frei is comfortable with that because he felt players weren’t being heard.
Aside from the percentage split being heavily favored toward the owners, players are also frustrated that there’s no monetary incentive to perform well. Although teams can get $1 million for each tie, $2 million for each win, $7.5 million for getting out of the group stage and tens of millions more if they advance further, the players are currently capped at the $1 million bonus they receive simply for participating.
“I think you want to give every incentive for players to go on the Cinderella story, to get a tie against the team and somehow find a win and get out of the group,” Frei said. “If we do so, what a great story, not just for for the players, but for this league and for the sport in this country. That’s sort of where our head is when it comes to all these conversations.”
Ferreira returns
Jesús Ferreira was back in full training after his partner gave birth to the couple’s first daughter over the weekend.
“Jesús is a father,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said. “He’s happy, proud and a little tired.”
All-Star voting
MLS released its first update of All-Star Game voting results and the only Sounder to make the top 5 at any position was Alex Roldan at right back. Fans can submit votes here.
