As far as transfer targets go, FC Barcelona rarely have any issues in getting players to say yes. For La Blaugrana, that is perhaps the easiest part of any deal these days thanks to their prestige as a club and as an institution. However, there is another hurdle for Barcelona that serves as a much more difficult challenge to overcome.
The hurdle in question is none other than their financial reality, and it is one that has limited them significantly in the transfer market. Even the highly-anticipated pursuit and saga concerning Nico Williams ended up falling apart due to the exact same reason.
However, when it comes to Nico Williams, there is still more to the story and no conclusive end has been reached just yet. For Barcelona, he remains a player that they keep an eye on given his massive potential and the trajectory that he is on. Yet, there is one condition that the club insists upon if there is to be even a slight chance for La Blaugrana to pursue the Athletic Club winger again.
That condition, according to SPORT, would be that Nico Williams retains the €60 million release clause that he currently has at least until the summer of 2025. With Athletic Club trying their best to extend his stay, Barcelona is insistent that his chance of a future with the Catalan club rests upon that release clause remaining untouched and unaltered as they sort out their financial issues.
For the Basque club, however, that is exactly the thing that they wish to address. If they are able to increase that termination clause by a significant amount, Athletic Club are sure that they can keep Barcelona and any other suitor for that matter away from their star winger.
Ultimately, Barcelona still see Nico Williams as a good investment if he can be secured for around €60 million. Given the demands of the footballing calendar these days, having a player of his quality be added to an already impressive squad is exactly the kind of thing that can make Hansi Flick’s team even more complete.