Joan Laporta is not willing to give up on Nico Williams. At the moment, the Ahtletic forward still has not given a definitive response to the culé offer and, with the good news that has arrived in the last few hours at the FC Barcelona offices, an unexpected optimism seems to reign in the Barça team regarding their options. to close what will be, without a doubt, Barça's most important signing in the last five years.
According to the latest information, the Barça board maintains full confidence in bringing the operation to fruition. Not in vain, after returning from the American tour, Laporta is confident in receiving the definitive "yes" from Pamplona shortly, betting strongly on two key factors: the possibility of signing under the 1/1 rule and the arrival of the first reinforcement of the summer to Barça.
Financial solvency, essential to close the 'Nico operation'
For Barça, resolving the sale of Barça Studios has been the main obstacle to strengthening normally in recent markets. The board took the first step forward with the sale of 10% of the operation to the American company Amarak, responsible for the catering of the Spotify Camp Nou from 2025. The club will earn 40 million euros net from this section and, in addition, He hopes to add 60 more 'kilos' in the next few hours for the remaining 24.5% of the amount that the Líbero fund defaulted on last year.
These 100 million will clean up the culés' finances to resolve pending registrations and amortize the transfer of the Athletic star, which reaches €62M net including taxes. In addition, Barça offers him €12M net salary for five seasons, until June 2025, along with other performance bonuses and the possibility of increasing his emoluments in the coming years. In total, the operation would go up to €120M, an amount that the Barça team will have no problems covering, since other sponsorship agreements are also pending to be invoiced, in addition to some sales and transfers that must be resolved before August 31. Unlike the previous three summers, the board believes that this year they are one step away from signing normally and there is no time to lose.
Dani Olmo, an extra 'decoy' to convince Nico Williams
On the other hand, Laporta knows very well that the signing of Dani Olmo has a double purpose. On the one hand, Barça incorporates a very versatile footballer for the forward, who is going through the best moment of his career and with the total trust of the technical staff, especially Hansi Flick 'in love' with his ability to adapt to different roles in attack. Furthermore, the one from Terrassa is another 'lure' to convince the youngest Williams, since both have understood each other wonderfully in the National Team.
And, in addition to Lamine Yamal, Barça understands that the best way to take advantage of the Basque winger's full potential is to surround him properly. In that sense, the arrival of the RB Leipzig midfielder may convince the 21-year-old striker to pack his bags to take on the biggest challenge of his budding career, with the aim of continuing to win titles alongside his best partners in La Roja. Flick's scheme would be quite similar to that of Luis de la Fuente, with a double pivot for recovery and exit (Frenkie and Gündogan, like Rodri and Fabián Ruiz) and Lewandowski acting as Morata as the only area reference, a scenario ideal for Pamplona to shine with its own light just like in the Euro Cup.
Athletic knows that Nico will have the last word
Meanwhile, a tense calm reigns in Bilbao regarding the future of its star. Both the board and the press know that, under no circumstances, will Nico agree to leave the club on bad terms and are strongly betting on the possibility of playing in the Europa League with his brother Iñaki as a determining factor in his final decision. Furthermore, seeing the winger so animated on his return to training gives a certain peace of mind, although the 'lions' are clear that, in the coming weeks, anything can happen, since the footballer has always had complete freedom to decide his future. If Williams decides to leave, the club he wants to go to must pay the 58 'kilos' of his cash clause. Only then will the winger say goodbye to San Mamés.