Nico Williams makes last-minute demand ahead of £50m Barcelona switch - and the Spanish giants will have to sell to make it happen

5 hours ago 3

By ZAC CAMPBELL

Published: 17:25 BST, 28 June 2025 | Updated: 17:25 BST, 28 June 2025

Nico Williams has made a demand at the eleventh hour ahead of his proposed move to Barcelona after indicating his desire to leave Athletic Club. 

Williams, 22, has pushed for a move away from Bilbao this summer with Bayern Munich and Arsenal also reported to have been interested in signing the winger. 

Earlier in June, Mail Sport understood that both Barcelona and Bayern had held talks with the Spanish international only for him to opt for the Blaugrana earlier this week. 

However, Hansi Flick's side will have to sell players later on in the window to make Williams' move viable.

The Spanish international made his mark as one of the most promising wingers in the world after starring at Euro 2024 alongside Yamal.

He scored Spain's opening goal in the 2-1 final victory over England in Berlin and has so far made 28 appearances for the national team, scoring six times.

Nico Williams has made a last-minute demand to Barcelona ahead of his imminent move

Hansi Flick's side have made him their number one target this summer

But he has demanded that he be registered to their 2025-26 playing squad upon signing to ensure that his move goes through without any hitches, per Marca

Williams must also be registered to their squad along with Joan Garcia, after they signed him from Catalan rivals Espanyol. 

Although Joan Laporta has said this can be done without a problem, LaLiga have stated that the Catalans have not yet returned to the 1:1 rule. 

The regulation in Spain's top tier requires a club to match every euro spent on new signings with a euro of revenue or wage savings. 

Therefore, Barcelona must sell players in order to guarantee that Williams can be registered with the likes of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen, Pablo Torre and Ansu Fati linked with a move away. 

However, their departures are not guaranteed, which can in part explain why Williams may have some apprehensions over his switch. 

He appears to want to avoid a repeat of the situations that befell Dani Olmo and Pau Victor after they signed for Barcelona - which meant their registrations were revoked. 

Although they were still allowed to appear for Flick's team last season, their had been a concern that they would miss out on matches as LaLiga failed to prove they were complying with the league's financial rules by the deadline on 31 December last year. 

Barcelona, like many other clubs, appear to be waiting for the new footballing financial year to open - which comes into force on June 30 - before they officially announce any signings. 

Williams scored 11 goals and provided seven assists in 45 appearances for Athletic Club last season as they finished fourth in LaLiga.

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