Hansi Flick Breaks Silence on Nico Williams Rejecting Barcelona Move
When news broke that Nico Williams had turned down Barcelona's offer to ink a fresh 10-year deal with Athletic Club, Hansi Flick's initial reaction mirrored that of many others: complete astonishment.
While not directly involved in transfer talks, the Barcelona coach would have certainly been informed about the increasingly encouraging progress in the club's chase for Williams. Despite Athletic's very vocal efforts to disrupt Barcelona's bid for their prized asset, the current La Liga titleholders had seemingly reached an agreement on personal terms with the winger.
The only remaining step was triggering Williams's €62 million ($71.3 million) buyout clause. Yet, before Barcelona could finally conclude their lengthy year-long chase of the Spanish star, Athletic proudly declared that Williams would stay in Bilbao through 2035.
Bayern Munich, Flick's previous employer, had also shown interest before eventually (and clearly too early) conceding that Barcelona had secured the signing.
When questioned by BR24Sport about whether he was 'shocked' by Williams's choice, Bayern's honorary president Uli Hoeneß responded with bewilderment: "We all were—I maintain regular contact with Hansi Flick, who's currently on holiday at Tegernsee, and he was stunned as well, since they had essentially already secured his agreement.
"I can't really comprehend his motivation for this. But it seems some individuals are after more financial compensation."
When announcing the contract extension, Athletic also disclosed that Williams's release clause has been raised by "more than 50%". The traditionally-minded club generally only parts with players when their buyout fee is activated, as they limit their signings to players born or developed in the Basque region, thus guaranteeing a fee exceeding €90 million ($105.5 million) should Williams depart later.
Barcelona's management, technical staff and squad members allegedly discovered Williams's choice to remain at Athletic via the quickly produced social media announcement released by the Basque outfit. The motivation behind this surprising reversal is believed to center on a particular provision in his potential Barcelona agreement.
After witnessing Dani Olmo get deregistered and face half a year on the bench during the 2024–25 campaign when Barcelona couldn't accommodate his salary within La Liga's rigid financial limits, Williams was reportedly concerned about experiencing similar uncertainty. His agents allegedly sought to include a provision allowing immediate contract termination if he couldn't participate due to financial constraints. Barcelona declined. As Flick would shockingly learn, this became the decisive factor.