Nico Williams rejects Barcelona as he signs new deal at Athletic Bilbao
Nico Williams has signed a new deal at Athletic Bilbao amid interest from Barcelona.
Barcelona have suffered a massive blow in their chase of Nico Williams as the winger has signed a new deal at Athletic Bilbao. The Spaniard has penned a new 10-year deal, keeping him at San Mames until 2035.
Williams had a €58 million release clause, and the Catalan side were looking to activate it this month. However, they needed to get within the financial limits set by La Liga.
The Catalan side could not guarantee that the winger would be registered straightaway, which led to differences. Williams spoke to Bilbao’s media team after penning the new deal and said:
“When it comes to making decisions, for me the most important thing is to listen to your heart. I am where I want to be, with my people. This is my home.”
The new contract has seen his clause increased by over 50%, with reports suggesting it will be just under €100 million. Bilbao were furious with Barcelona’s approach for their star player and registered a complaint with LaLiga for the comments made by Deco, the Barca sporting director.
“The meeting was held in Madrid in response to a request from Athletic Club made within the framework of compliance with financial fair play. Among the topics discussed was FC Barcelona’s ability to sign players after FC Barcelona sporting director Deco publicly acknowledged that they will try to sign a player from our first team.”
“Deco’s statements add to the public statements made by president Joan Laporta himself, admitting that the Blaugrana club ‘is working to be within the 1:1 rule’ and that, therefore, it is not currently within the parameters of said rule for registering players.”
Williams was linked with a move to Barcelona last summer before the winger opted to stay at Bilbao. The same has repeated this summer, amid interest from Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
