Nico Williams Snub Barcelona, Signs 10-yr Athletic Bilbao Deal

Spain winger Nico Williams has signed a new 10-year contract with Athletic Bilbao.

The 22-year-old had been heavily linked with Barcelona, while German club Bayern Munich were also speculated to be interested in his services.

His previous deal with Bilbao was scheduled to run out in 2027, but he has now extended his terms with them until June 30, 2035.

The Spanish club have said Williams’ release clause, which is believed to have been €62m (£53m), has also increased by 50%.

“When decisions have to be made, for me, what weighs most is the heart. I’m where I want to be, with my people, this is my home,” said Williams.

Williams has come through the ranks at Bilbao, where his older brother Inaki is also a player, and made his debut for the club at 18 in April 2021.

He has scored 31 goals in 167 appearances for the club and helped them finish fourth in La Liga last season as they qualified for the 2025-26 Champions League.

Williams also helped Spain win Euro 2024, scoring in the 2-1 victory over England in the final.

This announcement comes after it was understood that Barcelona had agreed personal terms with the forward, which led to Athletic’s fans erasing Nico Williams from a mural featuring him and Inaki.

It is also just over a week after Athletic said they had met with La Liga to find out about Barcelona’s “ability to sign players” amid the Nou Camp club’s financial issues.

Athletic Bilbao added they had “legitimate interest in accessing the relevant information after FC Barcelona sporting director Deco publicly acknowledged that they will try to sign a player from our first team.”

“Deco’s statements add to the public statements made by FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta himself, admitting that the Blaugrana club ‘is working to be within the 1:1 rule’ and that, therefore, it is not currently within the parameters of said rule for registering players.”

The ‘1:1 rule’ states that Barcelona can only spend as much as their income and accounts allow, with La Liga calculating a limit based on the club’s expected income.

The 10-year contract for Williams continues an increasingly common practice across football whereby more players are being signed to long-term contracts.

In January, Norway striker Erling Haaland committed to a new deal with Manchester City until 2034.

Chelsea are renowned for signing players to long-term agreements and, in August 2024, forward Cole Palmer extended what was already a seven-year contract by two years to keep him with the Blues until 2033.

The Stamford Bridge club has continued to employ this strategy, despite Uefa and the Premier League changing rules in 2023 so a transfer fee can only be spread across a maximum of five years of a player’s initial contract.

Previously, Spain playmaker Andres Iniesta signed a lifetime deal with Barcelona when he was 33 in October 2017, although he joined Japanese side Vissel Kobe in 2018.