FC Barcelona will not make any more efforts to try to convince Nico Williams to leave Athletic Club this summer. After almost a month of negotiations with the winger and his entourage, the 21-year-old forward has decided to stay in San Mamés, as revealed by the Bilbao team this Monday after making official the new number that the Pamplona player will wear this season.
The youngest of the Williams will inherit Iker Muniain's '10', a recognition of his loyalty to the club after a summer where he rejected juicy offers to fulfill a family promise: debut in Europe with the 'red and white' shirt. This being the case, Barça will no longer insist on the Basque winger, to whom the board offered a contract for 5 seasons at a rate of 8 million euros net per year.
The factors that caused 'Operation Nico' to collapse
Before the Euro Cup final against England, Barça had an agreement in principle with Nico. However, the club's delay in returning to the 1/1 rule to sign normally, added to the pressure from the player's environment to stay in Bilbao, tipped the balance in favor of an Athletic that, a month ago, seemed resigned to wait for the footballer's 'ok' to the Barça proposal.
After the Euro final, the winger went on vacation and contacts with Barça cooled down. Finally, the board has ended the negotiation after not receiving any concrete response and, with three weeks of the market ahead, an effort will be made to sign one or two 'top' players to accompany Dani Olmo in terms of reinforcements. Kingsley Coman is the one who has sounded the loudest in recent hours, thanks to Bayern Munich's intention to facilitate his departure.
Laporta confirms it: There will be no more efforts for Nico Williams
In the preview of the Joan Gamper Trophy, Joan Laporta himself made the club's position clear regarding the signing of the Basque. A group of culés fans asked him to bring the one from Pamplona and the president's response was blunt: "We already have a good squad," according to the information leaked by 'COPE'. As it is, Barça misses what promised to be the most important signing of the summer, although there is confidence in the movements that can be closed between now and August 31, once LaLiga gives the green light to sign without financial restrictions.