Politicians have reacted with anger over a 720,000-euro (£585,365) bonus for each Spanish player if the national team wins the World Cup in Brazil.
Captain Iker Casillas and vice-captain Xavi Hernandez signed the deal with Spain's football federation on June 3 on behalf of the 23 players — a £97,561 increase from the 600,000 euros (£487,804) each player received when their country won the 2010 tournament. MPs Pablo Martin Pere and Susana Ros of the opposition Socialist party criticised the premium as "disproportionate" and "an insult to citizens" given the recent economic crisis.
And Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida tweeted that Spain would pay "more than twice" the bonus Germany would if they won the tournament. "Are we twice as rich as Germany?" his tweet said.
Germany's team will receive 300,000 euro (£243,900) if they win, having kept the same agreement they struck when they participated in Euro 2012.
Spain's economy began to crumble in 2008 with the collapse of its bloated property sector and unemployment soared to 26.1% at the close of 2013.
Food wholesaler Juan Burgos, 44, who had travelled from northern Navarra to sell produce in Madrid said: "With so many people in Spain hurting so badly, those kind of payments don't fit with our everyday reality."
MP Laia Ortiz said she would raise the matter of the squad's premium in parliament and lambasted football for being "another world" where "there is no crisis".Each member will receive a payment of 360,000 euro (£292,682) if the team reach the final, and 180,000 euros (£146,341) if they make the semi-finals.
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