‘A lot of damage’ – Nico Williams’ brother Iñaki hits out at Barcelona move ‘lies’ | OneFootball

Athletic Club star Iñaki Williams has this week responded to the backlash against brother Nico, following his decision to reject a move to Barcelona.

The name of wide-man Nico of course dominated the headlines in Catalunya’s capital once more earlier this summer.

As much came after widespread confirmation was forthcoming that Barcelona had reactivated their efforts to bring the 22-year-old in from Athletic.

Just when it appeared as though the transfer was a sure thing, however, Nico, out of the blue, pulled the plug on the operation.

The attacker, instead, made the call to put pen to paper on a lucrative long-term contract extension in Bilbao.

Owing to the last-minute nature of his decision, Nico was subjected to heavy abuse across the Spanish football landscape, particularly by way of the Barcelona fanbase.

Speaking to the media this week, brother Iñaki, in turn, made use of the opportunity to jump to his teammate’s defence.

During his first appearance in front of the media since being unveiled as Athletic Club’s new captain, Iñaki explained:

“We know how the world of football works and the pressure they wanted to exert on the fans with a media campaign that they thought was going to work for them.

“The external noise has done a lot of damage and soiled many things, what was leaking were lies. My brother had made the decision quite a bit, but a very long contract had to be drawn up until 2035. It could not be made public overnight.

“Nico was vandalized twice, with the mural and when they broke the glass of his car. These are things that are not known and it is very easy from the sofa to say why you do this. Watching my brother suffer has not been easy.

“There were more teams (than only Barcelona) that bid for my brother and I’m not surprised. He is a player with a very low and affordable clause, it was candy for the big teams. It has not been easy, with a lot of noise, with an incredible media campaign towards a world-class footballer.”

Quotes via Diario Sport

Conor Laird – GSFN