Barcelona presidential candidate insists club don't have financial ability to sign Euro 2024 winner Nico Williams this summer
Barcelona presidential candidate Victor Font reckons the club are not in a financial position to snap up Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams this summer, who played a key role in Spain's Euro 2024 win.
Williams, 22, scored twice - once in the final - in six games as La Roja beat England 2-1 to become the first team to win four European Championships. The winger was coming off a superb season with Bilbao: eight goals and 19 assists in 37 games across competitions.
That includes three goals and five assists in six games in their victorious Copa del Rey campaign. Following his Euro exploits, Williams has caught the attention of multiple clubs, including Barca.
However, Font - a presidential hopeful in 2026 - said that the club lack the financial ability to sign Williams, who has a reported release clause of €58 million. He told The Athletic (via GOAL):
“I wish we could sign Nico Williams as it is what we need. The president (Joan Laporta) has said it is possible, but that is not true. Today, it cannot be done. We hope it will be possible tomorrow, or the following day. But today, it is not.”
Reports suggest Williams is set to remain at Bilbao despite interest from Barca, Arsenal, PSG and Chelsea.
How many Barcelona players won Euro 2024?
Four Barcelona players won Euro 2024 with Spain. They are Pedri, Ferran Torres, Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal. Among the quartet, Yamal shone the brightest, emerging as one of the standout players in the tournament.
A day after turning 17, Yamal became the youngest player to win the Euros. Earlier, he became the youngest to appear in a major-tournament semi-final and final, breaking the previous record set by the late Pele at the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden.
Yamal starred with one goal and four assists in seven games at Euro 2024. All but one of the goal contributions came in the knockouts as he became the first player to provide a goal contribution in the quarter-final, semi-final and final at the same Euros.