Barcelona have received a fresh boost in their pursuit of Nico Williams, as they look to put together the money to sign the Athletic Club winger. The Blaugrana decided to go after Williams again after he made it clear that the Catalan giants were his priority this summer.
The 22-year-old has had interest from Arsenal and Chelsea in recent months, who would have been more than capable of paying his €58m release clause, while Barcelona were looking into alternative options. However roles have been reversed in the last week, with the Premier League duo now looking elsewhere. Yet Bayern Munich emerged as the strongest candidate for his signature in recent weeks.
Bayern had opened talks with Williams, and received a positive initial response, but their efforts to sign him were put on stand-by, after they were informed he would be prioritising a move to Barcelona. Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sports DE has now revealed that Bayern have moved to try and intervene in a move to Barcelona, making a second approach. That occurred in the last 48 hours, but Williams has turned down the approach, as he continues to wait for a deal to Barcelona.
🚨🛑 Nico #Williams has given FC Bayern a final rejection in the last 48 hours. There had been a new approach from Bayern’s side. He is determined to join FC Barcelona. A verbal agreement between Williams/Barca has been in place for several days.
Joan Laporta is still pushing…
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) June 19, 2025
Barcelona have already reached an agreement with Williams on personal terms, and will sign a six-year deal with the Blaugrana if they activate his release clause. He is set to earn around €7m per season, with bonuses on top of that figure.
João Cancelo: "I'm a Barça fan, it's normal. I love Barça and I love Barcelona. I love the group I was with at Barça, now I'm at Al-Hilal and I continue on this path." Via @sport
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 19, 2025
The key question is not so much whether Barcelona can get the money together to sign Williams, but whether they can find the space in their salary limit to register him. It appears Barcelona are on the verge of a deal that would help them greatly in that regard, but the feeling is that they will also require departures from their squad in order to make it happen.
