Barcelona’s push to secure Nico Williams is faltering, as two significant obstacles stand in the way of a potential transfer.
The Catalan giants are facing two major obstacles and challenges that could hamper their attempts to sign the 22-year-old, according to Mundo Deportivo.
The player wants to join, but this shows the challenges of a Barcelona transfer as they are trying to manoeuvre through dealing with financial and political issues surrounding their club.
The first major issue is how the transfer will be financed.
The winger, Nico Williams, has a release clause of €58 million, and rises to around €64 million when accounting for inflation.
Barcelona’s current finances, especially since spending €25 million on Joan Garcia, mean it will be challenging for the club to spend this amount in one payment.
Therefore, Barcelona may need to find a line of credit, which is a bad move given that Barcelona is trying to navigate working through financial fair play restrictions.
A payment structure like this is an issue in itself, but Athletic Club insists on the total clause being met and does not willingly negotiate.
The second challenge to clear is each club’s rather hostile relationship. As we’ve seen in recent months, the tensions have come to a head with financial sanction issues and mutual player registration and financial fair play issues involving Olmo and Pau Victor.
Athletic Club has taken it upon themselves to publicly speak out against some of Barcelona’s practices, leading to a more political division between sides ahead of negotiations.
There is some reluctance for Barcelona to funnel significant cash to a rival because of this relationship, and this coldness will add complexity to the negotiations.
As Barcelona considers its options with Luis Diaz still as its top target, and going after Nico Williams highlights a mixture of ambition and realism, they have some serious decisions to make in the coming weeks about whether they can get through the challenges of handling Athletic Club to secure the Spanish International.
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