Barcelona have been left at the altar for two summers in a row by Nico Williams. After agreeing terms to a deal with the Catalan giants, doubts over their ability to register him gave Williams food for thought. However the Blaugrana were not prepared for Williams to sign a new contract with Athletic Club on Friday morning.
Los Leones tied Williams down for the next decade, in a new deal running until 2035. As per Diario AS, even after agent Felix Tainta informed Athletic of Williams’ intention to join Barcelona on the 24th of June, President Jon Uriarte continued to work on a new contract for the Spain international. Athletic offered a deal that far outstripped Barcelona’s terms, but it is a frustrating end to a saga that again comes down to the latter’s salary limit issues.
Doors for Nico Williams are now closed forever. @RogerSaperas
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 4, 2025
The decision has not gone down well in Barcelona, with Sport explaining that the news was met with ‘incredulity’ on the Costa Brava. The feeling at Barcelona is that their interest has been used so that Tainta could negotiate a better contract, and that Williams and his camp have not been honest with them.
It was Williams that got in touch with Barcelona to reveal he was willing to move to Camp Nou, and the Blaugrana feel they have been a pawn in the negotiation. The fact that Williams did not inform Barcelona of his decision in particular did not go down well, as Barcelona readied themselves to activate his release clause. RAC1 say that Barcelona have also ruled out future moves for Williams, albeit this was said last summer.
Barcelona will now turn their attentions to their two main alternatives, Liverpool’s Luis Diaz and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford. The former was the preferred choice for Director of Football Deco, but Liverpool have shown little appetite to negotiate with Barcelona. On the other hand, Rashford looks a cheaper alternative.
