Barcelona have reached a personal agreement with Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams, but several issues still need sorting before the Spanish winger can complete his dream move to the Catalan giants.

The 22-year-old Spain international, who is of Ghanaian descent, has netted 31 goals in 167 games for Bilbao and has also caught the eye of Arsenal and Bayern Munich this summer.

However, Williams has agreed to a six-year contract that would see him team up with his close mate and Spain teammate Lamine Yamal at the Nou Camp.

Williams reportedly asked Yamal to help him secure the Barcelona move after a successful season with Bilbao, where he helped the club qualify for the Champions League and reach the Europa League semi-finals.

Barcelona had looked at Liverpool’s Luis Diaz earlier in the summer but were put off by the Reds’ £80m asking price for the Colombian winger.

Williams has a release clause worth 62 million euros (£53m) in his Athletic Bilbao contract, which Barcelona are prepared to pay.

Sporting director Deco met Williams and his agents in Ibiza this week, where they shook hands on a verbal deal.

Nico Williams

Nico Williams’ recent performance

The winger enjoyed his best goalscoring campaign last season, finding the back of the net 11 times in 41 appearances across all competitions.

His strong form followed Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, where Williams scored the opening goal in their 2-1 final win over England in Berlin.

Inaki and Nico Williams

Despite the personal terms being agreed, Barcelona still face obstacles in completing the transfer, though the club remains confident of landing their target before the summer window closes.

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Nico Williams nears Barçelona transfer as parties agree on personal terms

bbc.com Sports News Jun – 19 – 2025 , 14:48 1 minute read

Barcelona have agreed personal terms with Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, but obstacles remain before the Spain international can complete his desired move to the Catalan giants.

Williams, who has scored 31 goals in 167 appearances for Bilbao, has drawn interest from Arsenal and Bayern Munich this summer. However, the 22-year-old has committed to a six-year deal with Barça, which would see him reunite with close friend and international teammate Lamine Yamal at the Camp Nou.

Sources say Williams even asked Yamal to help facilitate his move to Barcelona after a standout season with Bilbao, during which he helped the Basque club qualify for the Champions League and reach the Europa League semi-finals.

Barcelona had previously explored a move for Liverpool winger Luis Díaz, but the English club’s £80 million valuation of the Colombian forced them to reconsider. Instead, attention turned to Williams, whose €62 million (£53 million) release clause Barça have indicated they are willing to trigger.

Sporting director Deco reportedly met with Williams and his representatives in Ibiza earlier this week, where a verbal agreement was reached.

Williams enjoyed the most prolific season of his career in 2024–25, netting 11 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions. His impressive form was capped by international success, as he scored the opening goal in Spain’s 2-1 victory over England in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin.

How much will Nico Williams earn at Barcelona?

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Following reports of Nico Williams and Barcelona reaching a personal terms agreement, here is how much the player is expected to earn.

Barcelona are reportedly closing in on arguably one of the most exciting transfers of the June 2025 summer window as they are said to have reached a full agreement on personal terms with Spanish winger Nico Williams.

According to multiple reports, the 21-year-old has agreed a six-year contract with Barça, which is expected to keep him at the club until June 2031.

A key highlight of the deal is the financial package, which will see Nico earn a net salary in the region of €7–8 million per season. This substantial wage places him among the higher earners at the Catalan club with an estimated wage of over 150,000 euros weekly.

With standout performances for Athletic Club and the Spanish national team, Nico has caught the attention of several top clubs, but it’s Barça who have moved quickest to secure the player’s commitment.

Now that personal terms are sorted, Barcelona are focused on reaching an agreement with Athletic Club over the financial aspects of the deal. The Basque club are known for being firm negotiators, and with a release clause involved, talks are expected to intensify in the coming days.

Should the transfer go through, Nico Williams would not only bolster Hansi Flick’s attacking options but also become one of the club’s most valuable long-term assets both on the pitch and on the wage bill.

Nico Williams

Barcelona have reportedly agreed on personal terms with Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, with the 22-year-old set to sign a six-year contract that would keep him at the Camp Nou until June 2031.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Williams’ deal includes a salary package in the range of €7 to €8 million net per season.

While the player’s side of the agreement has been finalized, Barcelona are now working on reaching a financial settlement with Athletic Bilbao to complete the transfer.

“Nico Williams and Barça have agreed personal terms on 6 year deal,” Romano stated on X. “Agreement sealed on player’s contract until June 2031 with the salary in the region of €7/8m net per season. Barça are currently working on financial terms to get the deal done with Athletic.”

The young winger has been in outstanding form in La Liga and was a key player for Spain in the 2024 Nations League.

His potential move to Barça has been widely anticipated, with the Catalan club looking to bolster its attacking options for the upcoming season.

With this deal, Williams is set to become a crucial part of Barcelona’s squad, bringing his pace and skill to the team’s attack.

The final hurdle now lies in the financial negotiations between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao.

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Barcelona have reached a verbal agreement with Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams over personal terms and do not view the forward’s €60million (£50m, $62m) release clause as an obstacle to a deal this summer.

Williams has attracted interest from a host of clubs during the transfer window, including Arsenal, Liverpool and Bayern Munich, but has made Barcelona his priority.

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While the Spanish champions do not view paying his release clause as a problem, they now face a challenge to generate the headroom in their wage budget to register the winger, which is preventing a deal from being concluded immediately.

The Catalans, though, are confident of finding a solution and adding Williams to their star-studded front-line this summer, and the 22-year-old is confident in the club’s assurances that a deal will be done.

Barcelona carry a particular appeal to Williams, especially given his close bond with Lamine Yamal, a team-mate for Spain.

Athletic sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, accept that Williams is set to leave the Basque Country for Barcelona in a move that is expected to further strain the clubs’ relationship.

Barcelona were among the clubs interested in Williams in summer 2024, with Arsenal, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool also pursuing the winger.

Athletic were forced to resist Barcelona’s advances, with club president Jon Uriarte saying in a statement: “Athletic Club is financially, socially and sportingly capable of keeping players of the calibre of Nico Williams.”

This summer, Liverpool’s reluctance to do business for Luis Diaz — initially Barca’s preferred candidate — helped to pave the way for a deal, although Barca already have Raphinha in Williams’ preferred position.

Williams earned a high salary at the Basque club and turned down a lucrative offer to extend his time in Bilbao.

As reported by The Athletic, Bayern Munich made an offer to Williams in June as the German champions aimed to strengthen in wide areas after missing out on Florian Wirtz, who is close to joining Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen.

After coming through Athletic’s academy, Williams made his debut for the senior side aged 18 in April 2020 and has gone on to appear 167 times, recording 31 goals and 30 assists.

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Can Barca actually afford him?

Even if Barca sign Williams, their salary limit situation needs to be fixed for him to be able to play in La Liga.

Because they are spending more on wages than La Liga’s calculated maximum for them (these are calculated according to each club’s income), they will either have to cut their wage bill or raise new revenue.

On Tuesday, La Liga president Javier Tebas said Barcelona are still not in line with their salary-limit rules.

Commenting on Barca’s €25m move for goalkeeper Joan Garcia (which was completed on Wednesday), he said: “Barca need to do some things to register Joan Garcia. Not a lot of things, but they know what they need to do in that regard. I am not going to reveal them here. One thing is to make the signing official, the other one is: can they register him?”

This is all, by now, familiar ground in Barca’s financial world. In January, La Liga de-registered Dani Olmo, after concluding Barca were in breach of their salary limit. Barca were only able to re-register him after a ruling from the Spanish government in their favour.

Olmo signed for Barcelona last summer (Pedro Salado/Getty Images)

Barcelona have actually secured some funds via a few sales this summer. Como met the €6m release clause in the contract of 21-year-old full-back Alex Valle, who had been on loan at the Italian club, while West Ham United’s €39m signing of Jean-Clair Todibo from Nice, following his season on loan, means Barca are set to earn another €7.8m, as they inserted a 20 per cent sell-on clause in the deal when selling the defender to the French side in 2021.

They have also terminated Clement Lenglet’s contract, which had two years remaining, and the defender has now joined Atletico Madrid, where he was on loan last season, but they still need to do more. Further departures are needed, as well as progress with the Camp Nou renovations to ensure bigger commercial income from the club’s home stadium soon.

Why do Barca want Williams?

Analysis by data writer Thom Harris

Williams endured a slower start to the season after starring at Euro 2024 for eventual champions Spain, but his desire to run at defenders with the ball at his feet continued to burn bright. The 22-year-old has lightning-quick feet, with only Lamine Yamal, Jamie Gittens and Jeremy Doku attempting more than his 8.4 take-ons per game last season.

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Such ambition with the ball makes it hard to keep Williams out of the action for long, clicking into life as his boyhood team Athletic Club progressed through the Europa League. He was particularly electric in a 7-0 hammering of Real Valladolid, while his two goals against Claudio Ranieri’s Roma in March helped to overturn a first-leg deficit.

He likes to hold the width out on the left, which is particularly effective when he can nip to the byline and cut the ball back. But there is real unpredictability to Williams’ game. The winger is capable of cutting inside to shoot or driving into the danger area, as we can see from the chart below.

Even in a trickier season for him, Williams still put up a goal or an assist every other match. But it’s not all about output with this winger, a zippy, relentlessly positive runner who makes things happen through the sheer speed with which he approaches the game.

(Top photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)