Luis Díaz moves away from Barça due to Nico Williams

Luis Díaz is moving away from FC Barcelona ahead of the next summer market. The 'summit' between Nico Williams' agent and Deco last Friday changed the 'azulgranas' plans regarding the signing of a left winger, smoothing things over between the board and the Athletic Club forward.

In principle, the Colombian international seemed to be the most sensible option to shield the devastating 'culé' attack, after Nico's 'no' last summer. However, the player from Pamplona ratified his desire to join Lamine Yamal at Barça and everything points to the fact that, after the arrival of Joan García, the Basque player will be the second Catalan reinforcement for the 25/26 season.

The reasons why 'Lucho' has been relegated to a secondary role in the 'culé' roadmap has to do with sporting and economic factors. Mainly in relation to the amortization of each signing.

Age and the value of his clause, factors favorable to Nico Williams over Luis Díaz

Luis Díaz and Nico Williams, wingers that Barça likes

Although the performance of the 'Guajiro' (17 goals and 8 assists in 50 games) in the 24/25 season was superior to that of Nico (11 goals and 7 assists in 45 games), the Spanish international will only turn 23 in July, while the Colombian winger will turn 29 next January.

This, added to the Barrancas native's record (19 titles at club level), represents an interesting bet on a player established in Europe, but equally risky at a physical level. 'Lucho' does not have a worrying history of injuries, but amortizing his contract for five or six seasons would imply investing a significant sum for a veteran player.

Williams, on the other hand, has just won his first titles (the Eurocup and the Copa del Rey) in 2024 and aims to consolidate himself as one of the best forwards in the world. In addition, his excellent relationship with the Spanish internationals at Barça promises an unstoppable partnership not only with Lamine, but also with Balde, Pedri, Olmo, Gavi...

In addition to the sporting aspect, logically, there is the financial issue. The Athletic's '10' is worth 58 million euros, which will be 62 'kilos' in total adding the CPI. His salary will initially be around 6-7 M€ net per season, about 14 M€ gross for five seasons. 70 'kilos' more, totaling an operation in the order of 130 M€.

For Díaz, on the other hand, Liverpool is asking for at least 75 million to let him go. His salary would be similar to that of the Basque player, but adding the cost of the transfer, the signing could go up to 150 M€. Too much for a player who would reach the end of his link with the club around 33 years old.

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Luis Díaz: economic gap between Barça and Liverpool grows

Barça bets on the future and Nico Williams is the most sensible option

In that sense, the board is leaning towards the signing of Nico Williams as the first option, already with the 'Ok' from Joan Laporta. This does not imply that the operation is closed and that Luis Díaz is totally ruled out. But it does establish a different order of priorities than the one that was being handled just a week ago.

Barça also has Marcus Rashford on its radar, a less expensive bet financially, but equally complex due to Manchester United's position and the Englishman's salary. In any case, Laporta himself confirmed the imminent arrival of another signing, with the Bilbao 'crack' on the horizon.

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Laporta excites: "We are about to make a signing"

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