Athletic Club captain Inaki Williams has resolved against Barcelona for their attempts to sign his younger brother Nico Williams this summer. After a long-term chase of the 22-year-old last summer, Barcelona moved to the Basque Star again, but instead the younger Williams committed his future to Los Leones.
The story went that while Barcelona was looking for Luis Diaz, the agent of Williams came into contact with director of Football Deco to explain interest in a move to Barcelona. But three weeks later, with Barcelona unable to give them guarantees that he would be registered, a new deal with Athletic was announced.
In a press conference during the preseason, the older Williams brother Barcelona accused a media campaign to try to convince his brother to become a member of the club.
“We all know how the world of football works. They wanted to put pressure on athleticzales, on my brother. They have put together a media campaign that they thought it would work. I think, we, athletically as a club, when we want a player, we do it under the radar.”
“It has caused a lot of damage. It has tarnished many things. Many of the things they said, who had leaked to the media or on social media were lies. I will be honest, my brother had more or less made the decision, but we still had to put a contract together and edit until 2035. You couldn't just sue.”
There has been a lot of debate around Nico Williams, with many sources that claimed it was Nico Williams who made his interest in moving to Barcelona, rather than the other way around. However, it is not the first time that Barcelona has used intense public pressure as an aid in the pursuit of a player. It is also not the first time that this tactic has also drawn the anger of those on the other side.
Athletic has received a lot of criticism for their own activities of players in the Basque Country, which made them interest in the Jesus Areso van Osasuna, well before activating his free-gauge clause, and a deal with an ex-Real Socied Socied-player Robert Navarro ends 18 months prior to his contract.
Many athletic fans had wondered why, if Nico Williams was indeed not interested in a move to Barcelona, he did not kill the story himself.
“Things happened that had been tainted what Athletic wanted to achieve. They destroyed the mural twice, they went to my brother's house, they broke one of the lights of his car. Things that may not happen, but that have a big impact on a football player. About what he has decided.”
“And it's very easy, from the bank, to say:” Why didn't you do this? “Or” why didn't you say that? “, If you suffer from a personal level. And my brother suffered, and as a captain of Athletic Club it's not easy.”
The older Williams brother also explained that 'it was not an easy summer for my family', because of the speculation around his younger brother. He also noted that it was not a case for Nico Williams of Athletic Club or Barcelona, but many more teams also pursue his signature. Bayern Munich reportedly also offered him before he signed his deal until 2035.