Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, La Liga, Transfers
Ryan Smart
Nico Williams has been tipped to complete a shock transfer to a club other than Barcelona this summer.
The Spanish international winger is one of the most sought-after players in world football this summer, with Barcelona the leading contenders to sign him from Athletic Bilbao.
The 22-year-old scored 10 goals in all competitions last season after helping Spain to win Euro 2024.
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Williams has a release clause of £49 million and Barca president Joan Laporta wants to trigger it.
But Bilbao, according to Spanish outlet SPORT, want to block the deal from happening through the use of a little-known rule.
It is claimed that the Basque club want to use Spanish football's '1:1' rule, which stipulates that teams in La Liga can only spend the same amount of money as they bring in on transfers.
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Bilbao appear to believe that Barca would be in breach of this rule if they were to spend £49 million on Williams.
His future, therefore, remains as yet undecided, with Arsenal and Manchester United among the other clubs believed to be interested in signing him.
Williams has now been tipped to join Barca's El Clasico rivals instead, with ex-Real Madrid star Luis Figo claiming that he would sign him for Los Blancos.
Figo infamously made a direct move from Barca to Real in 2000, with the backlash being so severe that he once had a pig's head thrown at him by a spectator while playing a match at Camp Nou.
Speaking to AS, the now 52-year-old believes Real could be an ideal fit for Williams.
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"There are a lot of players I like," Figo began. "I'd definitely sign Nico Williams. And in the end, the price, considering what we're paying today, seems reasonable to me. Because of his quality and also because of his youth.
"We're different players. He's a player I really like because of his position. I prefer the wingers where I've played. But I wasn't as fast as him - I wish I had been.
"I'm speaking from a market perspective, because for value and price, I think he's a bargain."