England’s Lucy Bronze feels “sad” some of her Barcelona team-mates will miss the Women’s World Cup after making themselves unavailable due to a dispute with Spain coach Jorge Vilda.
Midfielder Patri Guijarro, defender Mapi Leon, forward Claudia Pina and keeper Sandra Panos will not feature.
Guijarro scored twice in Barcelona’s Champions League final win against Wolfsburg on 3 June.
“I know that they’re ambitious players,” defender Bronze said.
Speaking to BBC Sport’s Katie Gornall, Bronze added: “It’s sad that they’re missing out on something that’s a huge moment in any footballer’s career to make a difference.
“But unfortunately this is women’s football still.”
Barcelona’s Mariona Caldentey and Aitana Bonmati have been recalled for the World Cup.
They were among 15 players involved in a dispute with Vilda last September.
In September, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) claimed 15 members of its national team said they would resign if Vilda did not step down.
That was denied by the players, but a stand-off ensued amid reports of concern over training methods and inadequate game preparation.
Spanish newspaper Marca reported that 12 of the 15 players had asked to be considered for selection again and were no longer in self-imposed exile after agreements with the RFEF had been reached.
“I’m really close to all the Spanish girls,” said Bronze, who joined Barcelona in June 2022.
“It’s a situation where I probably know more than most. Especially because there’s been processes at England that we’ve had to go through to improve things that we get and that we do, and the Spanish girls ask a lot of questions [about that] because obviously we became European champions.
“There are world-class players who won’t be going to the World Cup because of these reasons.
“Many teams around the world who face a lot of problems are fighting a fight.
“I think the Spanish girls have probably got more headlines because it’s world-class players we’re talking about, but there’s many teams around the world – Jamaica is a great example – who are fighting to make their teams better and getting them on a level where they deserve to be.”
Spain, who will be appearing at the Women’s World Cup for a third time, start their Group C campaign against Costa Rica in Wellington, New Zealand, on 21 July (08:30 BST).
They then play debutants Zambia in Auckland on 26 July (08:30 BST) before tackling 2011 world champions Japan in Wellington on 31 July (08:00 BST).
