RENTON, Wash. — After Sunday’s protest regarding how FIFA men’s Club World Cup money will be disbursed, Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer “upbraided the team in a profanity-laced postgame address,” according to reporting by online publication Sounder at Heart.

But, in terms of the issues, the MLS Players Association said there is no update as of Wednesday afternoon regarding the $9.55 million FIFA is awarding CONCACAF teams to play in the new quadrennial tournament.

A source familiar with the league who’s not authorized to speak on the matter said there have been ongoing conversations that have increased the past few days. They added that while there may be movement within the week, the issue is addressed in the collective bargaining agreement, which was ratified in 2021.

The CWC will open June 14 with a group-stage match between Inter Miami CF, the designated host, and Egypt’s Al Ahly at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida. The Sounders, which qualified as the 2022 CONCACAF Champions Cup winner, begin group-stage competitions June 15 against Brazil’s Botafogo at Lumen Field.

Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan confirmed Hanauer addressed the team following their 3-2 loss to Minnesota, but did not get into specifics about the interaction.

“It’s out of character for all of us to act the way we are right now,” Roldan said on Wednesday. “We’re all frustrated. Sometimes we wear our emotions on our sleeve. We see that on the soccer field, we see that off the field. Frustration is important because it means you care. We don’t see any of this as viewpoint to hate each other. We just want things to get resolved. So, frustration is good because it means you care.”

Hanauer was not made available for comment Wednesday. On Sunday, he declined to answer questions regarding the protest.

During warmups on Sunday, Sounders players wore white T-shirts with the wording “Club World Ca$h Grab” emblazoned on the front and Mr. Monopoly centered, wearing a hat with “MLS” on it and “FIFA $” on the money pouch. The back read “Fair Share Now.”

The match was chosen because FIFA representatives were in Seattle as part of the CWC trophy tour. It was also the league’s highlighted “Sunday Night Soccer” programming on Apple TV, but the broadcast didn’t air images of the shirts.

“We just want things to get resolved,” Roldan said. “Maybe we could’ve done a better job of communicating with Adrian. He’d probably say the same thing toward us. What we want to acknowledge is that we talked about this publicly. A lot of people, whether it’s front office, players, other players in the league, were aware that we have been frustrated for a long time.”

The mounting disappointment from players is because FIFA announced in March a record $1 billion prize pot would be distributed across the 32 teams and 63-match event. Players say that’s enough time to broach the subject.

The CWC falls under “performance and/or participation in a compulsory tournament or noncompulsory tournament” in the collective bargaining agreement. The clause caps player bonuses at $1 million — or approximately $35,700 for each player on the Sounders roster.

The Sounders were the first MLS team to qualify for a Club World Cup. The former iteration of the tournament was seven teams and the club received $500,000 to participate, which was split per the CBA clause.

FIFA envisioned this year’s money being a salve for increasing the workload of top-tier players. The governing body’s only stipulation is that the earnings must go to soccer operations, not owner’s pockets.

But FIFA isn’t going to track or audit teams to ensure the guidelines are followed, according to multiple sources.

“This is all about trying to figure out the most fair deal for everybody,” said Roldan, who’s one of 10 remaining Sounders players from the CCC-winning gameday roster. “We need to find middle ground. That’s important to acknowledge because the league knows this amount of money that’s being granted for playing in this tournament needs to be distributed in a fair way.”

Seattle, Miami and Los Angeles FC are the only MLS clubs playing in the Club World Cup. Miami qualified as the 2024 Supporters’ Shield winners and LAFC won a play-in match on May 31.

Rosters for Seattle and Miami, including Lionel Messi, signed a letter to MLS commissioner Don Garber requesting to renegotiate the clause in the CBA, according to Roldan. The parties have tinkered with the CBA in the past, it expires in 2028.

Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said he talked to his players’ senior leadership and confronted the team regarding the protest. He said those conversations would remain in-house and the team is focused on Sunday’s road match against the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Whitecaps.

“We’re ready to move on,” Schmetzer said Wednesday. “Whatever the league and the Players Association figure out, we, as a collective, are going to focus on Vancouver. That stuff is out of our control now.”

Roldan didn’t dismiss the possibility the players would wear the shirts again. It’s unknown whether the players for Miami or LAFC will protest in a similar fashion.

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