Barcelona president suspected Nico Williams U-turn the night before Athletic Club renewal | OneFootball

Barcelona are still reeling from the unexpected collapse of the Nico Williams deal. The winger’s arrival was pretty much taken for granted by almost everyone, for he had agreed a six-year contract and the Catalans were ready to activate his release clause.

However, the Athletic Club ace and his agent, Felix Tainta, performed a shock U-turn and signed a long-term contract until 2035 with the Basque outfit.

The feeling within the Barça camp is one of anger and betrayal, and the doors appear to be permanently closed to the 22-year-old Spanish international after falling victim twice.

Laporta had suspicions

Nico Williams’ renewal announcement, in the form of a video on social media, came on Friday morning, much to the surprise of Barcelona.

While the Barça board was caught off guard by the final outcome, SPORT reports that Barcelona president Joan Laporta had begun to suspect something in the days leading up to it.

On the night the video with Athletic was filmed, the Barça chief was dining at a well-known sushi restaurant in Pedralbes, Barcelona.

Nico Williams rejected Barcelona again. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)

Upon leaving, a fan approached him and asked whether Nico was coming to the club.

Laporta responded with a candid reflection. He explained that the player’s agent was causing delays by insisting on a release clause in case the player could not be registered – something the club outright rejected.

Registration guarantees the undoing

Laporta stated that they were not going to agree to such terms and that, on top of paying the €60 million release clause, they could not risk losing the player for free. He hinted that the deal had become highly complicated.

This proved to be the sticking point in negotiations between Barcelona and Felix Tainta, following a meeting with Deco in a well-known Barcelona hotel weeks earlier.

The whole situation quickly became convoluted and from being a step away from joining Barcelona, Nico ended up signing a long-term deal with Athletic Club.

Barcelona, however, are keen on leaving the entire episode behind and working on signing a new winger. Luis Diaz and Marcus Rashford are currently on the radar.