Nico Williams and Barcelona have reached agreement on contract terms and the club does not view his $62 million release clause with Athletic Bilbao as a potential obstacle. However, Barcelona will face a challenge in registering Williams due to their wage budget.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern Munich have also pursued Williams, but Barcelona was his preference. Williams has an especially close friendship with Lamine Yamal.
Barcelona pursued Williams last summer amid Euro 2024. Barcelona initially pursued Luis Diaz this summer, but were refuted by Liverpool and that led to a pivot to Williams.
Williams made his debut for the senior side of Athletic at the age of 18 in April 2020 and has gone on to appear 167 times, recording 31 goals and 30 assists.