Athletic Club and FC Barcelona are embroiled in a heated dispute over Barcelona鈥檚 attempt to secure the services of Spanish international winger Nico Williams.
For the second summer in a row, Barcelona is trying to sign Williams. However, with Athletic refusing to negotiate the sale of their star player, Barcelona鈥檚 only option is to activate his release clause, which is reportedly set at 58 million euros (68 million U.S. dollars).
Barcelona has had difficulties adhering to La Liga鈥檚 stringent financial fair play rules. Dani Olmo was only allowed to play after the club appealed to Spain鈥檚 Superior Sports Committee. It remains uncertain whether the club is now in a financial position to register new signings without first offloading players.
Athletic was incensed by an interview Barcelona sporting director Deco gave to La Vanguardia earlier this week, in which he openly discussed Williams, claiming the player had informed Athletic of his desire to join Barcelona.
In response, Athletic requested both La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to examine Barcelona鈥檚 financial situation 鈥 a move that angered Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who told local press that Athletic should 鈥渕ind its business鈥, reports Xinhua.
Athletic president Jon Uriarte met with La Liga president Javier Tebas on Wednesday, and the club confirmed Thursday that Barcelona鈥檚 鈥渁bility to sign players鈥 was among the topics discussed.
The club鈥檚 website confirmed, 鈥淭he meeting was held in Madrid in response to a request from Athletic Club made within the framework of compliance with financial fair play. Among the topics discussed was FC Barcelona鈥檚 ability to sign players.鈥
The club also reacted to Laporta鈥檚 remarks, stating it was defending its 鈥渓egitimate interest鈥 after FC Barcelona sporting director Anderson Luis de Souza, also known as 鈥楧eco鈥, publicly acknowledged that they will attempt to sign a player from our first team. This player has a contract with Athletic Club until June 30, 2027. Our job is to ensure that the rules of the competition are followed.鈥
Athletic further noted that Deco鈥檚 comments follow Laporta鈥檚 own admission that Barcelona 鈥渋s working to comply with the 1:1 rule鈥 鈥 the regulation that allows clubs to spend income from player sales 鈥 and, therefore, the club is not currently meeting the conditions to register new players.
The pro-Barcelona press insists the club will sign Williams next week, but the saga looks set to continue throughout the summer.
With IANS Inputs