Inaki Williams accuses Barcelona of 'damaging' media campaign to lure Nico from Athletic Club

The Catalan team were close to signing Nico Williams before he agreed to a new deal with the Lions.

Inaki Williams has criticized FC Barcelona after their unsuccessful attempt to sign his brother Nico Williams this summer.

In a somewhat strange tirade, Inaki has conveniently forgotten that it was his brother who initiated the entire situation by giving his agent the order to meet with Deco and has instead placed all the responsibility on Barcelona.

The story claims that Nico’s agent contacted sports director Deco to indicate interest in a transfer to the Catalans while Barca were attempting to sign Luis Diaz. But three weeks later, Athletic Bilbao declared that the player’s contract had been renewed after the Catalan side failed to reach an agreement with Bilbao.

Inaki blames Barca for using media to force his brother out of Athletic

Inaki, the older brother, blamed Barcelona for a marketing campaign to get his brother to join the team during a news conference planning stage.

“Many lies have been told. We all know how football works and the pressure they wanted to exert,” he told reporters.

“Barça conducted a media campaign that they thought would work. That external noise has done a lot of damage and has tarnished things.

“What happened with Nico hasn’t been easy. They broke one of his car windows… Many times I’ve had to stop him.”

Nico has been the subject of much controversy. According to a number of reports, the player himself showed interest in Barca, not the other way around. But this is not the first time Barcelona have employed strong public pressure to sign a player—a strategy that frequently sparks criticism.

“This has not been an easy summer for my family” because of the rumors about his brother, the elder Williams reportedly remarked.

He emphasized that many other teams were interested in Nico Williams’ talents, so it wasn’t just a matter of choosing between Athletic and Barcelona. He apparently received proposals from Bayern Munich prior to agreeing to a deal that would last until 2035.

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