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Athletic Bilbao have announced that they have held a meeting with LaLiga to block Nico Williams' move to Barcelona. They believe that the Catalan side are not within the financial limits yet and should not be pursuing a move for the Spaniard.
In a statement released on Thursday, June 26, Bilbao have said that they are not happy with the comments made by Deco on Barcelona's plans to sign Williams. They added that the Catalan side are still not in a financial position to pay the release clause or register new players. The statement translated by GOAL read:
"The meeting was held in Madrid in response to a request from Athletic Club made within the framework of compliance with financial fair play. Among the topics discussed was FC Barcelona's ability to sign players after FC Barcelona sporting director Deco publicly acknowledged that they will try to sign a player from our first team."
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"Deco's statements add to the public statements made by FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta himself, admitting that the Blaugrana club 'is working to be within the 1:1 rule' and that, therefore, it is not currently within the parameters of said rule for registering players."
Nico Williams has a €58 million release clause, and the winger is keen on joining Barcelona. The Catalan side are looking to activate the release clause next month and sign the Arsenal target.
Barcelona confirm interest in signing Nico Williams
Deco spoke about Barcelona's interest in Nico Williams and confirmed that Barcelona were planning to make a move for the winger. He admitted that the Athletic Bilbao star was always in their plans and said via GOAL:
"We’ve always had the idea for Nico. The fact that they’re friends is fine, but we’re not going to brand him as friends. This isn’t a club of friends; we come here to work and try to win. Then, if they get along, even better."
"The most important thing is that they’re on the same page and have a clear idea of what we’re looking for. If that’s the case, he’ll be everyone’s friend. If we sign a winger, there won’t be any more signings at this level."
Barcelona were interested in signing Nico Williams last summer, and were ready to activate the €58 million release clause. However, the winger decided to reject their interest and stay at Athletic Bilbao for the season as he wanted to stay close to his family.
