Athletic Club send straightforward message to Barcelona amid their reported pursuit of Nico Williams

Athletic Club have reportedly told Barcelona to pay Nico Williams' release clause if they want to sign the winger. The 22-year-old has come up through the ranks at San Mames.

Williams has been a key player for the Basque side since his first-team debut in the 2020-21 season, with 31 goals and 30 assists in 167 appearances across competitions. That includes 11 strikes and seven assists in 45 outings across competitions last season. He had five goals and as many assists in 30 matches in La Liga, where Athletic finished fourth to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

Despite being contracted to the San Mames till 2027, Williams has been the subject of interest of Barca for a while. After a failed pursuit last summer, Hansi Flick's are back in the fray for his services, as per Mundo Deportivo (via Barca Blaugranes).

Apparently ruling out any negotiation for the much-coveted winger, Athletic have reportedly told Barca:

“If they want him, let them pay the clause, period.”

The aforementioned report mentions Williams' current release clause to be over €58 million, an amount Barca could struggle to match, considering their well-documented financial woes.

Season Recap: Barcelona and Athletic Club

Both Barcelona and Athletic Club are coming off fairly successful seasons, especially Barca, who won the domestic treble in head coach Hansi Flick's first season in Spanish football.

The Blaugrana impressively went 4-0 against arch-rivals Real Madrid, besting Los Blancos in the Copa del Rey and Supercopa Espana finals and finishing four points clear of them in the league.

Flick's side also came close to reaching the UEFA Champions League final but fell 7-6 on aggregate to Inter Milan following a riveting 4-3 semi-final second-leg loss at home.

Meanwhile, Athletic - as mentioned above - finished in the top-four in the league. They also fared well in both the domestic cup and in Europe. Ernesto Valverde's side reached the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey and the semi-finals of the Supercopa Espana.

In the UEFA Europa League, they also reached the last-four, losing 7-1 on aggregate to Manchester United, who would lose 1-0 to domestic rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Bilbao final.

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Bhargav is a veteran sports journalist and editor at Sportskeeda, with a rich professional experience of 17 years, working for the likes of Siemens and Bombay Dyeing. An avid football and tennis follower for over three decades, Bhargav uses his vast knowledge and experience, attention to detail, an unbiased yet interesting writing style, and thorough research to craft insightful articles, which have raked in over 20 million reads so far.

Bhargav supports Italy at national level, a team steeped in tradition and history according to him. He still harbors the heartbreak from the Azzurri’s 1994 FIFA World Cup final defeat against Brazil, and protagonist-turned-antagonist from the game, ‘Divine Ponytail’ Roberto Baggio is his all-time favorite player. His favorite manager is Marcelo Lippi, who ended Italy’s 24-year wait for the World Cup trophy, winning it in 2006.

Outside Europe’s top five leagues, he follows the MLS following Lionel Messi’s move in 2023 but favors Cristiano Ronaldo in the G.O.A.T. debate. During his free time, Bhargav enjoys driving off to new places and singing.

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