Spain rocked by furious row involving key player a day before Euro 2024 final against England
Spain have been rocked by a furious row involving one of their key players ahead of their Euro 2024 final against England.
Spain are aiming to win their first Euros title since 2012 when they face England on Sunday.
A major advantage could be handed to the Three Lions as they look to win their first European Championship.
And the Spanish FA have been embroiled in a bitter dispute with Athletic Bilbao president Jon Uriarte, who has slammed the national team over the treatment of star man Nico Williams.
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Uriarte is furious at what he perceives to be a lack of protection for Williams, who has been the subject of intense transfer speculation following his performances at Euro 2024.
He's shone in Germany, attracting interest from the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Barcelona.
The Bilbao chief isn't happy with the questions over his future during media appearances at the tournament.
He took aim at the Spanish FA in a strongly-worded statement.
"Nico, a player who is committed to Athletic, has been subjected to a bombardment of questions about his future in an excessive and uncontrolled manner while at the European Championships," he said.
"The RFEF have not been able to protect him. Respect between all the actors who make up football is a fundamental basis, or that's how we view it at Athletic, which does not include subjecting players with contracts at one club to public pressure to join other clubs.
"There are no limits to Athletic's aspirations. We are demonstrating that we have an attractive project, a winning project for our players and our coach. The proof of that is that we have renewed the contracts of two of our internationals, Unai Simón (2029) and Dani Vivian (2032).
"Nico signed a new deal last year until 2027. Various other sought-after players have also committed their future to the club. Athletic are financially, socially and in sporting terms capable of keeping players of the caliber of those named in its structure, including Nico."
The Spanish FA, however, refuted Uriarte's claim as they released a statement of their own.
A statement read: "RFEF has treated Nico Williams in the same way we have treated the other 25 players who travelled to Germany. The impact that any of his words might have had is totally related to his performances and the great level he’s shown, and not to RFEF treating him differently."
Williams, 22, has a release clause of £49 million and is contracted at Bilbao until 2027, having signed a new deal at the end of last year.
Nasir Jabbar