Nico Williams’ agent explains decision to snub Barcelona to stay at Athletic Club | OneFootball

The agent of Athletic Club star Nico Williams has on Friday provided an insight into the reasoning behind the failure of his proposed move to La Liga rivals Barcelona over the summer.

The name of wide-man Williams, of course, took its place front and centre in the media headlines through the recently-closed transfer window.

This came with the 22-year-old’s continued excellence for club and country alike having sparked widespread interest in his signature.

Barcelona, for one, pushed hard to bring Nico in for much of the summer, eager to unite the Spanish international with close friend Lamine Yamal.

In the end, however, the transfer deadline came and went with the player still in Bilbao.

Speaking in an interview with SER Deportivos Navarra, as cited by Diario Sport, on Friday, the reasoning behind as much was, in turn, put to agent Félix Tainta.

And Tainta went on to provide an interesting insight into the situation, in explaining:

“It was an intense and stressful summer. Nico has had an incredible, spectacular year. He confirmed it for me by being the best player in the Eurocup. Logically, we have had a lot of movement, a lot of travel.

“In the end the boy has decided to continue, he wanted to stay for another year. We are here to work, support him in all his decisions and advise him, obviously, but he is the one who has decided that he wants to continue.

“When a player and his family want to stay at a club, they stay, and when they don’t want to stay, they leave. It’s not the representative who puts a gun to his head to make him leave. Each person and player decides where he wants to be.

“He wanted to stay,” Tainta concluded.

Conor Laird | GSFN