Barcelona have reached a verbal agreement with Nico Williams over personal terms as they prepare to trigger the player’s €60million (£50m, $62m) release clause.
Williams has been a target for a host of clubs during the summer transfer window, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern Munich, said to be interested.
Barca do not view paying his release clause as an obstacle. But they are now faced with a challenge to generate the headroom in their wage budget to register the winger, which is stalling the deal.
The Catalans, however, remain confident of finding a solution and adding Williams to their star-studded front-line this summer, and the 22-year-old is confident in the club’s assurances that a deal will be done.
Barcelona’s interest in Williams is a move that is expected to further strain the clubs’ relationship.
Barcelona, Arsenal, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool were among the clubs interested in Williams in the summer of 2024.
Athletic were forced to resist Barcelona’s advances, with club president Jon Uriarte saying in a statement: “Athletic Club is financially, socially and sportingly capable of keeping players of the calibre of Nico Williams.”
Williams is currently earning a high salary at the Basque club but has turned down a lucrative offer to extend his contract.
As reported by The Athletic, Bayern Munich made an offer to Williams in June as the German champions aimed to strengthen in wide areas after missing out on Florian Wirtz, who is close to joining Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen.
Since joining Bilbao senior team in April 2020 at the age of 18, Williams has gone on to appear 167 times, recording 31 goals and 30 assists.
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