When fans indirectly attacked him by removing his image from one of the murals, Athletic Bilbao stepped up in defense of Nico Williams, stating that he is “one of them, a player raised in Lezama, loved in the locker room and supported by the fans.” However, as the days go by, patience is wearing thin at San Mames—not just with the pacey winger, but even more so with Barcelona and the way the Catalan club is handling the whole situation. That’s why Athletic is determined to do everything in their power to make it as difficult as possible for the current Spanish champions to sign the 22-year-old.🚨 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆: Barcelona are prepared to fully pay the €62M release clause of Nico Williams 𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞 “and quickly wrap up the matter”, reports Spanish outlet Diario Sport 🗞️ pic.twitter.com/ECiCcFiUus— 433 (@433) June 25, 2025 Bilbao holds a firm stance: they will not negotiate Nico’s transfer to Barcelona under any circumstances. Barcelona’s idea, led by president Joan Laporta, was to pay the player’s release clause in installments due to long-standing financial struggles. But San Mames is adamant in sticking to the precedent set by Espanyol in the case of Joan Garcia—only accepting payment of the full 62 milion euros release clause upfront.The entire situation has triggered a wave of criticism from Athletic Bilbao officials toward their counterparts in Barcelona, accusing them of pressuring Williams publicly and fueling a dispute that began last summer. Club executives often claim they don’t comment on players under contract with other teams, but Deco had no issue doing just that—in an interview last week, he stated that “Nico wants to come to Barcelona,” which enraged everyone in the Basque Country. In response, Athletic has decided to do all they can to make things harder for Barca.🚨| 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐍: Athletic Bilbao’s president is in Madrid and plans to ask La Liga and the RFEF to monitor Barcelona’s summer dealings and block the Nico Williams transfer, arguing that Barça isn’t complying with the 1:1 rule. Bilbao are prepared to go head-to-head with… pic.twitter.com/vsL2U85Mbf— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) June 25, 2025 Spanish media report that Jon Uriarte and his namesake Berasategi, the president and general director of Athletic, made it clear during a Liga F meeting in Madrid that they would be closely monitoring all of Barcelona’s financial transactions. They also pointed out that they have information suggesting Barcelona is not complying with the 1:1 rule—a financial fair play regulation in La Liga that allows clubs to spend only as much as they earn from income, and one Barcelona has been struggling with for years.🇧🇷🔵 Raphinha (Barcelona, 22) 🇪🇸🔴 Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao, 22) 🧩Compare players 👉 https://t.co/McR5zrPSJm https://t.co/oD96AnhIfn pic.twitter.com/BeYGupI4Kz— DataMB (@DataMB_) June 21, 2025 Meanwhile, Basque journalist Jon Uriarte—who interestingly shares the same name and surname as Bilbao’s president and has covered the club for years—said he personally has no problem with Nico leaving the club, but has a hard time accepting that he might go specifically to Barcelona.“If he (Nico) wants to fly, let him fly. The problem is that he’s going to the one club we don’t want him to go to,” Uriarte said in a segment on El Partidazo de Cope.##NAJAVA_MECA_8992123##
