FC Barcelona’s pursuit of Nico Williams was one of the sagas of last summer. The Blaugrana have gone all out to pair Lamine Yamal with Williams after playing so well for Spain in their EURO 2024 triumph.
They failed to complete the deal, however, and instead opted to sign Dani Olmo, who is currently one of the standout figures in Hansi Flick’s team. Today, the real reason why the Athletic Club winger didn’t end up at Barca has finally been revealed.
Secrets of the Williams deal revealed
For a long time, the most widely accepted version of the story surrounding the recruitment failure was that the Spain international chose to stay at Bilbao because Barcelona could not guarantee his La Liga entry, given the well-known problems of the club with respect for the salary cap. However, a source close to Barcelona management refuted this version, offering a much simpler explanation for why the young Williams ultimately did not join the club.
In an interview with the daily El Chiringuito, where he also confirmed that PSG wanted to recruit Lamine Yamal, Enric Masip, advisor to President Joan Laporta, explained:
“If a player you’re interested in doesn’t want to leave, you don’t have much room to maneuver. There wasn’t much you could do. I find it hard to believe that if you were to recruit Nico Williams, you wouldn’t be able to record him. Barça were not going to pay 50 or 60 million euros for a player if they were not able to register him. So, well, it surely would have been done. »
