Potential player strike shows lack of respect – LA Galaxy’s Leiweke

LA Galaxy chief Tim Leiweke believes the prospect of a player strike in MLS is a complete lack of respect.

With the Players’ Union and the league still yet to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, the chief executive of AEG - who runs the LA Galaxy – says the players are not showing much respect for those who have made the league what it is today.

"(For the players) to suddenly threaten that they're going to shut it all down, I'm a little amazed at the lack of respect they show for the commitment that we all have made to get the league to where it's at today," Leiweke told the Los Angeles Times.

“Here's our issue, and I'm speaking on behalf of AEG," Leiweke added. "We have spent to the tune of $300 million on soccer. We have spent money on facilities. We at one point owned six of the 10 teams to keep the league alive.

"I don't even know how to react when I hear the players now saying that we have treated them poorly and they're going to strike. The fact is, the Galaxy isn't going to make money this year. There are only a couple of [MLS] teams that will make money this year.

"It's not like this league is a work of completion. It's not like we have accomplished what we have to accomplish to be stable and to know we have a great future. It's not like we have reached the potential of a soccer league in this country.”