Nico Williams during an Athletic Club match. — Photo: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Barcelona’s failure to give Nico Williams sufficient certainty that he would be registered was decisive in the winger staying at Athletic Club, according to his agent Félix Tainta. Mundo Deportivo report that Tainta explained the breakdown of the summer 2025 discussions on the Los Fulanos podcast, with Williams ultimately renewing his Athletic deal through 2035.

Registration uncertainty ended Barcelona’s pursuit

Tainta said the negotiations reached a point where Williams could not risk moving to Barcelona and being unable to play. He also referred to the approaching World Cup as a factor in the need for the player to keep playing, while making clear that the concern was not simply whether Barcelona wanted him.

The agent’s account makes registration certainty a condition of the move rather than a detail to resolve after it. He said Barcelona did not provide the assurances Williams needed, and the forward stayed in Bilbao before agreeing a new contract with Athletic.

Williams had considered a move before renewing

Tainta said Barcelona’s interest dated back to the summer of 2024, after the European Championship. He also named Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain among clubs that had wanted Williams, but his comments do not establish that any of those teams made formal offers or agreed terms.

The representative said Athletic knew about the conversations with Barcelona because he kept the club informed. He described Williams as having wanted to explore a departure, while recognising the sporting limits of staying at Athletic; the eventual choice, however, was to remain.

Tainta also pointed to Williams’ earlier decision to renew in December 2023. He said that agreement was for three years and kept the same release clause, despite the possibility of the player becoming a free agent the following year.

Registration guarantees matter in future talks

The episode offers a specific lesson for Barcelona’s recruitment: interest in a player cannot settle a deal if the player’s camp is unsure he will be eligible to play. It does not, by itself, establish the cause of the registration uncertainty or support claims about a particular fee, salary-limit calculation or contractual safeguard.

For Williams, the outcome was a new long-term commitment to Athletic, running through 2035. Tainta’s account of the negotiations now places the registration assurance Barcelona could not provide at the centre of why the 2025 move did not happen.