A gray-haired man with a serious expression appears in the foreground; in the background, the FC Barcelona crest and a player in a red-and-white uniform can be seen.
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Pedrerol compares the Williams case to Mbappé and leaves Barça K.O.: 'It was easy'

The veteran journalist succinctly sums up the failed signing of the Spanish star

Nico Williams's signing by FC Barcelona has failed for the second consecutive year. The signing of Athletic Club de Bilbao's "10" has ended in a major contract renewal for the Bilbao striker with the Basque squad, extending his contract until the summer of 2035. Many point to the lack of guarantees regarding his registration as the main weak point of that operation.

Josep Pedrerol may have revealed the details of the signing on the latest episode of "El Chiringuito de Jugones." According to the host and journalist, "Deco's negligence, which also draws a lot of attention in Nico Williams's circle". That same lack of guarantees regarding his registration led Nico Williams to set his condition of being a free agent if he couldn't be included in the blaugrana lists.

Soccer player wearing a red jersey number 11 with the name Williams Jr on the back during a match.
Nico Williams during a match with Athletic Club de Bilbao | RealMadridConfidencial

"Barça has gone six days, six, without showing any sign of life" in response to that suggestion from Nico Williams, thus generating even more doubts about the club's true ability to register players. During that time, the blaugrana entity may have been "leaking that Luis Díaz is a number two option and that he could even come".

Josep Pedrerol points out that, through those moves, "Barça hoped that everyone in Nico Williams's circle would get nervous". Nothing could be further from the truth: "no one got nervous. Then, the rush" to close a signing that Athletic Club de Bilbao's "10" has ended up rejecting.

It couldn't happen

"Here there's a third guest who has no place at the party, which is Bayern Munich", recalls Josep Pedrerol. But Nico Williams, closer to joining FC Barcelona, may have rejected that option even though "he was making more money" in comparison. "As a result, he stays at the club of his life earning less than in Germany", the journalist concludes.

After navigating all the comparisons regarding the "Mbappé case", a saga that dragged on for seven years in relation to Real Madrid, Josep Pedrerol has summed up this failed signing. "It was easy: there was a clause and Nico Williams's interest", the host recalls, indirectly pointing out that FC Barcelona had everything in its favor for the signing.

A soccer player in a red jersey and with blond dreadlocks hairstyle in a stadium.
Nico Williams during a match for Athletic Club de Bilbao | RealMadridConfidencial

But that signing has ended up coming to nothing because "Barça hasn't given guarantees" that the footballer could be registered on LaLiga's lists. That would be the circumstance, according to the host of "El Chiringuito de Jugones" and other media, that may have prevented the definitive team change.

FC Barcelona's image is once again damaged after this attempted signing, repeated for the second consecutive year, which offers a practically identical outcome to the previous one. Now Nico Williams secures his future with Athletic Club until 2035, making any signing even more complicated in the coming years.

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