Spain’s record scorer Jenni Hermoso says her international team-mates are “living through the worst moment” in women’s football.

Last week the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) claimed 15 players said they would resign unless head coach Jorge Vilda was fired.

The RFEF said the players claimed Vilda’s tenure was affecting their emotional state and health.

Spain’s players later denied they had called for Vilda to be sacked..

The players – who were not named by the RFEF – also said they were disappointed the federation had made their “private communication” public.

Hermoso, 32, who made her debut for the national team in 2011, has released a statement on social media saying: “These last few days, without a doubt, have been some of the most difficult that I have lived as a professional footballer and as a member of the Spanish national team.”

The striker, who joined Pachuca from Barcelona in the summer, said she wished the situation “had never been made public” but she respected the decision of her colleagues to express themselves.