Buyout clause was increased by nearly half after the player signed a contract extension to 2035
Athletic Club have increased Barcelona target Nico Williams’ release clause to €100m following the winger’s decision to reject a move to Catalonia and instead sign a long-term extension with Athletic.
Williams had been close to joining the La Liga champions in a deal worth around €60m, but negotiations collapsed earlier this week. The 22-year-old has now committed his future to Athletic until 2035.
The new contract significantly increases his previous buyout clause, which had been in the region of €60m, and which Barcelona had been prepared to pay.
The move collapsed because even if Barcelona had managed to pay the €60m to Athletic, they would still be unable to register Williams due to La Liga’s spending rules. Registering him would have required the departure of a current player on high wages.
William did not want a situation where he would be released from Athletic but be unable to play for Barcelona, with the World Cup approaching next year. The player and his agent then asked the Catalan club to guarantee a clause allowing Williams to leave if they failed to register him for La Liga.
Barcelona refused to allow this agreement, even though they had previously granted Dani Olmo such a safeguard in similar circumstances, and this led to a breakdown in talks. Barcelona have reportedly blamed the player’s agent for pushing those demands but have not clarified why they deemed it unacceptable in Williams’ case.
With the Spain winger now off the table, Barcelona will turn their attention to other attacking options. Liverpool have clearly stated that Luis Diaz is not for sale, which means that the club will likely approach Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford.
