The president of Athletic Club de Bilbao, Jon Uriarte, is extremely upset with FC Barcelona and has sparked controversy in Montjuic. The leader of the club that is playing away in Barcelona today did not hold back and revealed his opinion on the soap opera of the summer: The possible, and already ruled out, transfer of Nico Williams to the team managed by Hansi Flick.
Before the match of the 2nd day of LaLiga between both clubs there was no traditional board meal, but Uriarte said that this was due to personal commitments of his colleagues in the club's board, due to the week of festivities that are taking place in Bilbao. “I spoke with Laporta a few days ago to tell him about it,” he explained to the media. They experienced this same situation against Getafé a few days ago in the first match of the season against Getafe in San Mamés and with Barcelona itself a few seasons ago. “We shouldn't look for any controversy, now we're going to be together and they'll give us a gift for the 125th anniversary of our club,” he stressed.
Uriarte 'attacks' FC Barcelona
In statements to 'DAZN', the president has been questioned about the departures that the club may have before the transfer market closes. The leader showed a broad smile and spoke about what everyone had been waiting for. “We are quite calm, I would like to say that we take it completely naturally that there are signings, we have a very good squad, with a lot of talent and it is normal that they are interested in the market, with Nico's role in the Euro it is normal that he is in the eye of the storm.”
Minutes later, he was more critical about everything that happened around his new number '10': “There are certain things that we did not like, with lack of respect, of something that was not going to happen later and we believe that a club like Athletic has been undervalued. De Marcos said it the other day, it seems that a natural step is to go from any team to others that are called big in Europe: Madrid, Barcelona,... or others that maybe not because of history, but now because they have a lot of money. We don't like it, it has to be done with a certain respect and keeping a style."
This was a strong message to Laporta and his board, who tried until the last minute to get the signing of Williams, who was their top favorite to reinforce the left wing. This situation has forced the Blaugrana team to consider other options, while they continue looking for a way to register Dani Olmo, who is not playing against Athletic because they have not been able to register him. Finally, the president of Athletic reaffirmed that he does not expect any departures, but that they are still willing to sign another player: "We have an attractive project, everyone wants to continue with us," he concluded.