INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL
Iñaki Williams breaks the silence and lashes out at Barça over the Nico case
Published New:29/07/2025 - 15:46h
Updated New:29/07/2025 - 16:28h
Iñaki Williams spoke frankly about Barça's attempt to sign his brother Nico. He denounced pressure, lies and even attacks that marked a complicated summer
The 'soap opera' Nico Williams-FC Barcelona continues to give something to talk about. Although it seemed to be a completely closed issue, after the renewal of the left winger from Pamplona with Athletic Club until 2035 and, now, with the incorporation of Marcus Rashford by the azulgrana team, pages of this controversial story continue to be written.
This time, the person in charge of talking about the issue was the brother of the 23-year-old forward, Iñaki Williams. The Ghanaian international, as the first captain of the Basque team —taking over from Óscar de Marcos—, decided to raise his voice about everything that was experienced in the case of the possible arrival of the '10' of the rojiblanco team to the Barcelona team.
In the first place, the eldest of the Williams brothers was energetic in the face of an alleged bad behavior by Barcelona in the attempt to sign Nico, denouncing a possible media campaign that, in the end, did not take effect: "We know how the world of football works and the pressure they wanted to exert on the fans with a media campaign that they thought was going to work," he began by saying.
“The external noise has done a lot of damage”: Iñaki details the impact on Nico
Later, Iñaki explained that Nico, apparently, never hesitated to extend his link with Athletic Club and admitted that all the external noise generated by his possible landing in Can Barça negatively affected him:
"At Athletic, when we want a player, we do it quietly. The external noise has done a lot of damage and dirtied many things, what was leaked were lies. My brother had the decision pretty much made, but a very long contract had to be drawn up, until 2035. It couldn't be made public overnight," he commented.
"The external noise has done a lot of damage and dirtied many things, what was leaked were lies"
In turn, Iñaki emphasized the consequences of the alleged media campaign orchestrated against Nico Williams: "Nico was vandalized twice, with the mural and when they broke a window of his car. These are things that are not known, and it is very easy from the sofa to say why you do this. Seeing my brother suffer has not been easy."
"He was a treat for the big boys": interest beyond Barça
Likewise, the '9' of Athletic Club recalled that the bid for the signing of Nico not only involved FC Barcelona, but also other top-level clubs, and recognized why that did not surprise him:
"There were more teams that have bid for my brother and it doesn't surprise me. He is a player with a very low or affordable clause, he was a treat for the big teams. It has not been easy, with a lot of noise, with an incredible media campaign towards a world-class footballer," he emphasized.
The environment and the family: key in the final decision
Iñaki insisted that "it has not been an easy summer on a family level. There has been a lot of talk about my brother and many of the things that have been said are lies. All he has done is remain silent. In the end, everyone is entitled to think what they want about their future. In many moments of the summer, people have not been fair to my brother."
The forward also exemplified the situation with a curious analogy: "There are people who, when they go to a restaurant and are given the menu, take time to choose... well, making a decision like my brother's is not easy. He could have gone to one place or he could have chosen others. He didn't just have to choose between A or B. He had many offers, of a high level."
"He could have gone to one place or he could have chosen others. He didn't just have to choose between A or B"
Williams believes that, in the end, his brother "has made the best decision with his heart and ambition. The easy thing would be to go to very big teams to fight for the Premier League, Bundesligas or Leagues. He has stayed at Athletic, he will play with his brother and he can leave a legacy forever. It can be like the case of Julen Guerrero, who rejected many offers and has always been a reference for the young people here."
He also revealed that, on more than one occasion, he had to "stop" Nico because he "got heated when things came out that he didn't like. He would tell me 'I'm going to write and answer', but I recommended that he continue with a low profile, calm, because it is not easy to make a life decision."
Finally, the eldest of the Williams brothers stated that the family environment was key in Nico's decision: "On a personal level, I have not put much pressure on him. I have given him my point of view, what I think and would do in his situation. But it is difficult and complicated when you see on social networks that he was already looking for an apartment in Barcelona, that my father had one intention, my mother another, I also another different one... I don't know where they got it from. I started laughing, but my mother, who is a bit delicate, has suffered more."
Was Nico really a priority for Barcelona this summer?
Thus, definitively, a case has been written in which FC Barcelona has a different version of the facts. Even recently, the president of the club, Joan Laporta, spoke in an interview about the issue, in which he recognized that the youngest of the Williams brothers was never a market priority, as Luis Díaz and Marcus Rashford were.
According to the president, it was Nico's environment, through the agent Félix Tainta, who requested a meeting with the culé sports director, Deco, to communicate the player's desire. In this way, the name of the winger from Pamplona returned to the azulgrana agenda, although the operation was complicated by the demands established at the last minute by the Williams environment.
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