Barcelona shocked by Williams' decision to extend contract with Athletic

Catalan giants Barcelona put in significant effort to secure the transfer of Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams. So imagine the surprise of the Blaugrana executives when they opened the sports media this morning.

Details: According to Diario Sport, it was through the press that Barcelona representatives found out Williams had extended his contract with Athletic. The club was essentially presented with a fait accompli, as the player’s entourage had not informed the Blaugrana of any such intentions.

In Barcelona, this decision is seen as a major blow, and there’s a belief that the winger used their interest to negotiate more favorable terms with Athletic. Still, there’s no gloom at Camp Nou, as the club is already actively pursuing other options, including Luis Diaz and Marcus Rashford.

Reminder: Signing the Colombian from Liverpool won’t be easy, as the Reds have already informed Bayern Munich—who are also interested—that Diaz is not for sale.