Along with Luis Diaz of Liverpool, Nico Williams is one of Barcelona’s top targets for the left wing position this summer. However, they will have competition for Williams, and the Blaugrana will face a major challenge due to his €58 million release clause.
Williams is also being pursued by Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal; however, only Arsenal is prepared to exercise Williams’ release clause. Barcelona appears to be facing financial uncertainty, making an upfront payment of such a sizeable amount a challenging task.
Sport claims that the Blaugrana have already had one attempt to sign Williams rejected. At first, they proposed to pay €40 million in two equal installments, plus Basque defender Inigo Martinez. Athletic, though, declined that offer, so the Catalans are currently working on a backup plan. Inigo Martinez will also be part of the €55 million total, which will be divided into two payments of €25 and €30 million plus €10 million in contingencies. The entire cost might reach €65 million.
Due to their struggles with the salary cap, Barcelona clearly wants to avoid paying the entire clause at once. By doing so in two installments, the deal would be much more accessible to them. But Los Leones are well known for holding out for the clauses rather than negotiating for their players. Of course, it is conceivable and frequently happens that Barcelona is negotiating terms prior to having the funds secured, meaning that, should they be able to finance it, they will have a deal prepared.
