Club president says Barcelona have “taken all the necessary steps” to sign the Spain international
Barcelona president Joan Laporta is confused by the reaction of Athletic Club in the ongoing transfer saga involving Spain winger Nico Williams and the two clubs.
Barcelona are expected to activate the 21-year-old’s €58 million release clause, but Athletic have decided on a formal complaint to La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation. This week officials from Bilbao travelled to La Liga headquarters in Madrid to request a full financial audit of Barcelona.
They argue that Barcelona, due to ongoing financial constraints, may not be in a position to register Williams under the league’s fair play rules.
Sporting director Deco recently confirmed Williams has a “desire” to move to Camp Nou, fuelling speculation that a transfer is imminent.
“I don’t understand Athletic’s reaction,” said Laporta. “With all due respect, everyone should worry about their own business.
“I don’t understand why they would go to La Liga to speak about Barcelona, which is nothing to do with them, but each to their own. We’ve taken all the necessary steps to be able to sign normally. We will be able to sign and register the two players we want to sign.”
The second of those players is goalkeeper Joan Garcia, who joined Barcelona from Espanyol for €25 million last week.
