Barcelona believed they had secured a deal for one of Spain’s brightest young talents in the summer.
Nico Williams had even verbally agreed to a six-year contract with Hansi Flick’s side. So, Barcelona were confident of beating both Arsenal and Bayern Munich to his signature.
However, the transfer never reached its intended destination. The reason was tied to guarantees. The winger wanted confirmation he would be registered in time for the new season.
After that, he refused to risk the same issue faced by Dani Olmo. Barcelona could not register Olmo for the first two La Liga games in 2024-25 because of salary cap restrictions.
Therefore, the winger demanded clarity before signing. Barcelona were surprised by the conditions. The move collapsed, and the player stayed at Athletic Club.
Apart from that, Nico Williams agreed a remarkable 10-year contract extension with Athletic Bilbao, running until 2035.
Barcelona sporting director Deco has now explained the situation. Speaking to Mundo Deportivo (via Fabrizio Romano on X), he was clear with his words. Deco said:
“We never chased Nico Williams. It was his agent who approached us multiple times, not us going after him.
Athletic Club should ask his agent. He wasn’t even exactly the profile we were looking for… you just have to listen.”
Also, Deco criticised Athletic directly. The Barcelona Sporting Director said:
“Athletic are not an example, not at all. We set the club’s conditions, then negotiations have to be put on paper.
We made it clear we wouldn’t accept the conditions they were imposing, because no player is going to dictate terms to us.”
Meanwhile, the Catalan giants moved on with other targets. Marcus Rashford has impressed on loan so far from Manchester United.
Also, Deco revealed that Barcelona tried to sign Luis Diaz, but the Liverpool winger instead joined Bayern Munich.
Therefore, the Blaugrana turned their focus elsewhere, while Williams has remained in Bilbao.
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