Just in – Nico Williams informs Athletic Club he wants to join Barcelona | OneFootball

In a significant development, journalist Edu Velasco Jr on El Chiringuito TV reports that Nico Williams has informed Athletic Club today that he wants to join Barcelona this summer.

It is no secret that Barça are pursuing the 22-year-old Basque winger this summer after having missed out on his signing in 2024.

Nico, for his part, is eager to join the Catalan giants – something which sporting director Deco confirmed in a recent interview.

In fact, multiple reliable sources have already reported that the Spanish international has agreed a six-year contract until 2031 with Barça.

Next steps being taken

With the personal terms agreed, Barcelona have been preparing to activate Nico Williams’ release clause which stands at €58 million but will rise to €62 million upon being adjusted for inflation.

With formal steps set to be taken in the coming days, Nico has acted first to inform Athletic Club that he does indeed wish to sign for the La Liga champions this summer.

Eager to join Barcelona. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

Barça are planning to activate the same on July 1 or July 2, so that the deal goes into next financial year’s accounts rather than that of 2024/25.

The idea is for the Blaugrana to close the operation in the coming week so as to ensure that Nico does not have to be present for Athletic Club’s pre-season and instead can join Hansi Flick & co. for the start of their preparatory sessions from July 13.

Even though it had been suggested that Nico would try to convince Athletic Club to accept a flexible payment structure for his release clause, the Basque outfit are unlikely to entertain any such requests.

Barcelona, thus, will have to pay Nico’s full release clause amount in one go, which the club believe will not be a problem. What is a concern is freeing up enough salary space to register him in La Liga, work for which is being done.