Athletic Bilbao winger Inaki Williams has been hailed as the perfect role model for his younger brother Nico after eagle-eyed fans spotted an interesting interaction between the siblings following the Spanish Super Cup final.
Bilbao were beaten 2-0 by Real Madrid at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh on Sunday, with Luka Modric and Karim Benzema scoring the goals for the La Liga leaders.
Bilbao’s players were understandably disappointed at full-time, with Nico immediately removing his runners-up medal during the trophy presentation.
His older sibling Inaki, who has now made over 300 appearances for Bilbao, notices his brother’s reaction and gestures for him to put the medal back on.
“Guiding the way as any big brother should,” wrote Twitter account LaLigaLowdown.
Inaki Williams has been fiercely protective of his younger brother since he made his first-team debut for Bilbao in April at the age of 18.
In a league match earlier this month, Inaki was left furious after Nico narrowly avoided a horror tackle from Osasuna's Chimy Avila.
Avila attempted to stop Nico launching a counter-attack for Bilbao late in the game, with a challenge described as 'disgusting' by Spanish commentators.
Inaki squared up to Avila after a break in play, with the two players forcibly separated by their respective team-mates.
Speaking after the Super Cup final defeat to Madrid, Inaki gave some wise words of advice to the younger members of the Bilbao squad.
“I’ve told them in life you lose more than you win and you have to keep fighting and suffering,” he said.
“We’ll keep fighting so that more opportunities like this come along. Real Madrid deserved the victory and we congratulate them for it.
“Losing a final always hurts. But, it’s a pride moment for us to compete in this final, and our fans can be proud of what we did on the field.”
Featured Image Credit: RFEFTopics: Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid, Football, La Liga
Rory O'Callaghan