We have spent months (or years) hearing and reading news about Nico Williams. The Athletic Club footballer has been linked to FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and several Premier League teams, but until now he hadn't made a decision. In recent days, it seemed Barça had gained an advantage over other clubs. The closeness between the Navarrese forward and Lamine Yamal was a hidden card that favored the blaugrana interests.
Immediate future
The Barcelona press took for granted that Nico Williams would be a FC Barcelona footballer. In Bilbao, his face was even erased from a mural painted on the street. In just a few hours, he went from being a traitor to a hero. The forward has reached a contract renewal agreement and will be a "lion" until 2035. For now, he won't play alongside Lamine Yamal or the rest of the Barça footballers.
The Athletic Club star will play in the Champions League at San Mamés. He won't do so in Barcelona. He will do so in Bilbao. "When you have to make decisions, for me what matters most is the heart. I'm where I want to be, with my people. This is my home. Aupa Athletic," Nico explained in a video published on social media.
The new contract, in addition to being extended until 2035, also includes an increase in the release clause. If it was previously 58 million euros, it will increase by more than 50%.
For now, Nico Williams is an Athletic Club footballer. In the future, nobody knows what could happen. Now, the blaugranas are considering several scenarios. Will Barça try to go after him in the coming years or will they give up and explore other possibilities in the market?
Blow for Lamine Yamal
Nico Williams's decision is a hard blow for Lamine Yamal. The Mataró native is a close friend of the Athletic Club footballer and dreamed of sharing the jersey at Camp Nou. He will have to wait or settle for sharing the Spanish national team jersey.
Athletic Club statement
Athletic Club and Nico Williams have reached an agreement to extend, for eight seasons, until June 30, 2035, the contract that was set to end in 2027. His release clause increases by more than 50% compared to the previous one.
"When you have to make decisions, for me, what matters most is the heart. I'm where I want to be, with my people, this is my home. Aupa Athletic!" Nico Williams declared in the video in which the club announced his renewal.
This new show of loyalty marks a milestone in the red-and-white history and proves a path of trust in the sports project already started by, among other teammates, Unai Simón, Oihan Sancet, Dani Vivian, Mikel Jauregizar, Beñat Prados, or Ernesto Valverde himself... and, of course, his brother Iñaki Williams, the captain of this team that is already historic and generational. He will continue to wear the number 10 inherited from Iker Muniain, with the Champions League as the new stage. His step forward in the face of dizzying offers is a resounding success for Athletic Club, a true Athletic WIN (Williams, Iñaki and Nico) in every sense.
Ambitious lions who not only want to win, but also want to do it with Athletic, with the team of their heart, aware that in sports, the greater the difficulty, the greater the merit of victory, #UniqueInTheWorld.
Nico Williams (Iruñea, 2002) joined Athletic Club as an under-12 in the 2013/14 season, a year after his brother Iñaki arrived in Lezama. Since then, he has completed all the development stages at Athletic until his debut as a lion on April 28, 2021, at just 18 years old. In his 5 seasons so far with the first team, he has played a total of 167 official matches and has won one Copa title, as well as qualifying for the Europa League (where the team reached the semifinals) and for the Champions League this past season.
Nico Williams's contribution to Athletic in recent seasons has been decisive, making a difference offensively thanks to his dribbling and speed, scoring 31 goals, creating numerous chances, and being a constant nightmare for opposing defenses.
Beyond his outstanding performance on the field, Nico Williams's international projection has been immense, becoming a valuable ambassador for the Athletic brand worldwide, for example, by being named MVP of the 2024 Euro Cup final (where he was crowned champion with the Spanish national team) or by being included in the list of Ballon d'Or nominees (15th).
Athletic's sports philosophy, freely chosen, is a singularity that fills the club, its social base (owner of the entity), and its fans with pride. The step forward that Nico Williams has taken with this renewal fills the entire athleticzale family with pride and outlines a future as ambitious as it is exciting.
This is the famous Athletic, the famous Athletic Club.