The breakdown in negotiations came following the revelation that Barcelona are not yet operating under La Liga’s 1:1 financial rules and, as it stands, would not be able to register Williams in their squad—a similar dilemma which plagued the club after last season’s acquisition of Dani Olmo.

The Catalan club were rebuffed by Athletic Club last summer and had to compete with Bayern Munich for the winger.

Nico Williams has signed a new contract with Athletic Club until 2035, snubbing Barcelona's advances to sign him from the Basque side this summer.

“Athletic Club forward Nico Williams has put pen to paper on a 10-year deal keeping him in Bilbao until 30 June 2035,” a statement read. “Nico’s new agreement has an increase in the release clause of more than 50% over the previous one.

Nico Williams has signed a new eight-year deal with Athletic Club after links with Barcelona on Watch ESPN, first streamed on Friday, July 4, 2025.

Williams was keen to stay at Athletic for the 2024/25 campaign, at least, with hopes of playing in a home Europa League final. Now, he will continue to get the adoration of the Es

Nico Williams appears to have ended speculations surrounding his future after signing an astonishing new 10-year contract with Athletic Bilbao. The Spain international had appeared destined to join Barcelona and form part of a potentially devastating forward line with his La Roja teammate,

Arsenal target Nico Williams has put pen to paper on a new deal keeping him in Bilbao for a very, very long time