Barcelona are set to close a year-long saga by signing Nico Williams from Athletic Club, with a deal set for completion next week. And the Catalans are sticking to this idea, despite having incurred some hiccups in recent days.
Barcelona were snubbed by Williams last summer, with the 22-year-old choosing to remain at Athletic Club on that occasion. But he is now much more open to joining, and with personal terms having already been agreed, a deal can be done once the La Liga champions pay his release clause.
Those within Can Barca had hoped to negotiate a deal with Athletic to pay Williams’ release clause in instalments, but that idea was completely shut down by the Basque club. As such, Barcelona will need to pay €62m (€58m release clause, €4m CPI) as a one-off payment, but despite their well-documented financial woes, they say that it can be done.
Barcelona inform Nico Williams that he will be registered
Despite having agreed personal terms, it was reported earlier this weekend that Williams had asked Barcelona to guarantee that he would be registered with La Liga, this ensuring that he can play without problems during the 2025-26 season. And as per Sport, they have done so, meaning that there will be no pushback from the Spain international.
Barcelona will hope to avoid a repeat of last season’s debacle involving Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, but on this occasion, they have numerous players that could be moved on to ensure their return to La Liga’s 1:1 rule. Ansu Fati will leave for AS Monaco next week, while Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen, Oriol Romeu, Pablo Torre and Pau Victor have also been identified as candidates to leave.
It does appear that Williams will join Barcelona, despite Athletic’s strong attempts to block a deal from taking place. There is still work to be done, but things appear to be moving in the right direction.
