7 months ago
4
Sam Marsden
Moises Llorens
Jun 22, 2025, 10:19 AM ET
Barcelona sporting manager Deco has said that Spain winger Nico Williams is "showing a beardown desire" to marque the determination from Athletic Club to the Camp Nou.
Recent reports suggest Williams has emerged arsenic Barça's No.1 people aft Deco met with the player's agent, Felix Tainta, past week.
"We request to fortify successful this position," Deco told Spanish paper La Vanguardia. "As wingers, we lone truly person Lamine [Yamal] and Raphinha. From there, determination are names coming retired and it volition travel down to terms and quality.
"Nico was determination past twelvemonth but for me, astatine that time, Dani Olmo was the priority. Now. the aforesaid arsenic with different players, Nico is showing a beardown tendency to travel ... And if the close conditions are met successful his case, we'll decidedly effort to implicit the deal.
"There's a process with immoderate signing: speaking with agents, clubs, knowing the contractual concern ... Nico's lawsuit it wide due to the fact that helium has a merchandise clause. We've met with his cause to spot what helium wants and we volition spot if it's possible."
Deco told ESPN past period that Barça privation to adhd different winger to the squad, with sources revealing Williams, Luis Díaz, Marcus Rashford and Ivan Perišić are among respective candidates being considered depending connected however overmuch wealth is disposable to spend.
Barça made an effort to motion Williams, who played a cardinal relation successful Spain's Euro 2024 success, past summertime but a deficiency of assurances implicit the player's LaLiga registration meant the woody was not completed.
He has a merchandise clause of astir €58 cardinal ($66.7m).
Meanwhile, Athletic Club rebuked fans who erased Williams from a players' mural, declaring that those who "disrespect 1 of our own" person nary spot successful the club's household amid speech of his imaginable determination to Barça.
The 22-year-old, whose representation was removed with the connection "Leave oregon stay, you've mislaid respect," was defended by the Basque nine helium joined arsenic an academy subordinate successful 2013.
"The dignity of a nine is the dignity of the radical who marque it up and is measured by their capableness to behave successful a coherent mode with their ain values, without falling into provocations oregon lowering themselves, and ever holding their heads high," the nine said successful a statement connected Sunday.
"The dignity of a nine is besides reflected successful the mode it protects its ain people. That is wherefore those who person erased Nico's representation from creator Carlos Lopez's mural successful Barakaldo bash not correspond Athletic.
"And if they deliberation they are portion of this family, they should cognize that they are wrong: to disrespect 1 of our ain is to disrespect Athletic itself."
The mural, created by creator Carlos Lopez, primitively featured Williams alongside his member Inaki, who besides plays for the LaLiga side. The nine has contacted Lopez to assistance reconstruct the younger Williams to his rightful spot successful the artwork.
"Behind an anonymous deficiency of respect, determination is ever idiosyncratic excessively tiny to amusement their face," Inaki said successful a post connected X.
Information from Reuters contributed to this report.
