Everything seemed like it would be different this summer with the arrival of Nico Williams at FC Barcelona, but once again, the signing has become stuck. In recent days, the representative of the Navarrese, Félix Tainta, has put the deal at risk by demanding requirements that he initially did not ask for. He wants to include a clause to allow Williams to leave as a free agent if he can't be registered, something that, at first, was not part of the negotiation.
"I wouldn't play any more games with Laporta"
Right now, there is some frustration at Barça because everything is ready to carry out the deal and it has become stuck. In the last few hours, José Álvarez, a contributor to "El Chiringuito," who is very well connected with the club's board, has spoken out.
The journalist was blunt: "I wouldn't try to push Laporta any further on this issue. The situation right now, if I were Nico Williams and his agent, I wouldn't play any more games with Laporta or Barça. The moment you offer yourself when Laporta wasn't thinking about you, you offer yourself and accept Barça's conditions... At no time do they offer you any written guarantee and you say yes to everything."
José Álvarez continued: "We're going to pay the clause as soon as possible, if he can't be registered the second week, then the third week...." The moment you accept that... Laporta doesn't like changes and it's reaching a breaking point. Nico wants to play for Barça, the one negotiating is Félix Tainta."
Finally, he concluded by saying: "They've had an agreement for days, the money is ready to pay the clause. Nico Williams wants to come to Barça and Barça wants him to come. But I'll also tell you: they won't lift a finger for him anymore. Laporta won't lift a finger anymore. They won't sign any clause."
Back and forth with Nico Williams
There is exhaustion in the offices at Spotify Camp Nou, as José Álvarez explained. This summer, everything seemed different, with Nico Williams himself offering his signing and accepting that there would be no conditions. What nobody expected was for Tainta to completely change what had been agreed just days before the deadline to pay his clause.
The frustration is total and a warning has already been sent to Williams's inner circle: not a single detail of the agreement will be changed. The famous release clause won't be included and nothing different from what was already agreed will be added. The ball is in the player's court, who, supposedly, is desperate to play for Barcelona.