The wall painting with Nico Williams in Bilbao is again desecrated, just a few hours after it was lovingly recovered. The recoil of certain Athletic Club fans has escalated while the Spain International Randen closer to a transfer to Rivals Barcelona, a movement that has caused visible anger under the Basque community.
With Barcelona reportedly set to activate the release clause for Williams next week, his emotions are high in Bilbao. The original tribute, which also contained his brother Inaki Williams and the old club figure Iker Muniain, was destroyed for the first time last weekend. In that incident, Nico's face was scrubbed and a message was scribbled in Basque: “Joan Edo Geratu, Errefense Galdu Duzu”, which translates into “Whether you leave or stay, you have lost respect.”
Artist Carlos Lopez, who created the original mural painting, was quickly intervened to repair the damage. However, his efforts were short -lived, because only a few days later the artwork was again focused. This time the face of Williams was covered with black spray paint and accompanied by the expression “Rata de Mierda”, a rough insult in Spanish translating into “Rat of S ***.”