Actually Doink the clubs pay the players wages whenever they are playing internationals. Have you never heard a manager complain something along the lines of "x got injured playing internationals. This is an outrage because we pay his wages!" etc etc.
From the economist:
"But perhaps the biggest example of the anti-commercial impulses that run through the game is the World Cup itself. Football clubs around the world have to lend billions of dollars-worth of talent to their national sides, free of charge. The clubs will pay the players' wages throughout the tournament, and have to accept that their precious stars may return exhausted or even injured."
http://www.economist.com/surveys/sho...issue=20020601