Nico Williams makes demand to Barcelona ahead of expected signing

Barcelona are hoping to finalise the signing of Nico Williams as early as next week, but a spanner could now have been thrown into the works.

It has been taken for granted that Williams will join Barcelona, 12 months on from turning down the move in favour of remaining at Athletic Club. Personal terms have already been agreed, which was not the case in 2024, but the Catalans have assured that they are able to pay his release clause, which will total €62m (€58m for the clause itself, €4m CPI).

Nico Williams wants Barcelona to guarantee registration

But despite personal terms being agreed upon, Marca have reported that Williams has asked Barcelona to ensure that he will be registered with La Liga for the start of the 2025-26 season.

Barcelona must register Williams alongside already-signed Joan Garcia, who is expected to be the club’s starting goalkeeper next season. And while Joan Laporta has assured that there will no problems in this regard, La Liga have stated that the Catalans have not yet returned to the 1:1 rule, which would affect their chances of getting a deal done.

Barcelona need to sell players in order to guarantee that Williams can be registered, with the likes of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen, Pablo Torre and Ansu Fati among those to have been identified as leading candidates to depart. But it is not certain that the club will be able to do the business required, and after the debacle with Dani Olmo and Pau Victor, it is understandable that Williams is seeking assurances.

For now, it is expected that Williams will sign for Barcelona, with the idea being for his release clause to be activated on Tuesday or Wednesday. Once that happens, he can officially join, although it could be a while before he is registered with La Liga.