Nico Williams has signed a length 10-year contract extension with Athletic Club. The new deal will keep him at San Mames until 2035, as reported by The Athletic. Bilbao has raised players’ release clause from £50m to over £80m. Barcelona registered heavy interest in Williams early in this transfer window. However, the Spanish winger chose to remain.
Early this week, Barcelona was said to be in the final stages of completing the deal with Williams. Financial and registration issues prevented Barcelona from going through with it, and the same complications caused a delay in registering Dani Olmo and Pau Victor. Barcelona is now forced to look for other players in the market. Luis Diaz from Liverpool is said to be the name that Barcelona will explore.
Athletic consider William to be a key figure in their upcoming LALIGA and Champions League campaigns. This made him the highest-paid player ahead of his brother and goalkeeper Unai Simón. Nico is happy to keep the No.10 shirt and play alongside his brother, Inak Williams.
The Spanish International had five goals and five assists in last season’s La Liga campaign. He managed to play only 29 games. The Europa League was a different story. He played 13 matches and scored five goals and two assists. Bilbao finished the tournament in the semi-finals, failing to reach the final after a defeat to Manchester United.
The saga finally ends.
Nico Williams becomes the center of attention whenever the transfer window opens. For some time, Arsenal and Barcelona have been in close contact with the player’s representatives. They attempted to understand the conditions required to complete a deal.
It is no secret that Lamine Yamal is fancying the idea of playing alongside him in Barcelona. His social media activities led many fans to believe that this could happen. It was similar to the rumors of Cesc Fabregas joining Barcelona after the 2010 World Cup.
During this window, Barcelona went ahead with their pursuit. A verbal agreement was reached with the player. All efforts fell short when Bilbao asked for an exit clause in case Barcelona failed to register him this window. Barcelona could not provide a suitable structure for Nico’s signing. Although the player had already agreed to a reduced salary.
This news came as a shock to Barcelona fans. The Club’s President had publicly admitted that Barcelona could land their number-one target in Nico Williams. The saga finally ended when news broke that Nico Williams had signed a 10-year contract extension.
Arsenal did not appear to be confident in this deal due to the salary demands of Nico Williams. Reports of Barcelona’s verbal agreement with the player ended their pursuit. They are currently looking to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace and Rodrigo, from Real Madrid.
A big win for the Athletic Club.
Athletic Club saw an opportunity to extend the contract of their star player and took it. Barcelona has been in disarray due to financial fair play policies. There is always uncertainty in registering the players. However, it did not go their way this time.
With an increased release clause, Bilbao is looking to get much more out of Nico Williams when it is time to depart. The team will be in good spirits knowing their star man chose to stay, rather than looking for a replacement.
Interested parties will have to dig deep into their pockets to sign Williams. Even after that, they are faced with new salary demands.
