Barcelona confident of Nico Williams’ signing despite agent’s request for ‘special clause’ creating tension

Despite recent reports, Barcelona remain confident about finalising the signing of Nico Williams in the coming days and are preparing to pay his release clause, which stands at approximately €62 million (€58 million plus inflation adjustment), claims SPORT.

The La Liga champions view this week as crucial and aim to complete the payment before 9 July, the date Athletic Club returns to training. The intention is to avoid a scenario where the player must report back to the Basque club.

Tension between Barcelona and Nico’s agent

As per the report, Barcelona acknowledge that there has been some tension in recent days between the club’s sporting department and Nico Williams’ agent, Felix Tainta.

Tainta has been seeking guarantees that Nico will be registered with La Liga, something Barcelona has repeatedly assured.

The report further states that Tainta might have requested a ‘special clause’ to be included in the player’s contract, similar to one once held by Dani Olmo last summer, which would allow the player to leave for free if not registered.

This comes amidst all the noise from Athletic Club, who have been talking with La Liga about Barcelona’s financial situation and their ability to register players.

Barcelona firm on stance, want to proceed

However, Barcelona are unwilling to agree to such a clause, particularly after committing to pay the full €62 million release clause. The Catalans have indicated that any necessary guarantees will be addressed through other means.

Barcelona consider the release clause matter to be settled, as Nico is fully committed to joining the club and proceeding with the deal.

They maintain that all registration guarantees are in place and are now urging both the player and his agent to provide final approval so the release clause payment can be deposited with La Liga.

For this to happen, the Blaugrana require a notarised power of attorney from the player, as was the case with Joan Garcia.

An agreement on contract length and salary was reached several weeks ago, shortly after Tainta met with Deco at a Barcelona hotel to communicate the player’s interest in joining the team.

If all proceeds without issue, Nico will sign for six seasons, until 2031. His annual salary will be between €7 and €8 million – less than what Athletic is offering for a renewal, and also lower than the proposal made by Bayern Munich.