Former Barcelona president says Nico Williams is now a “problem” for Bilba
Former Barcelona President Joan Gaspart predicts that Nico Williams’ decision to renew his contract in Athletic Bilbao could cause trouble for players and Basque clubs.
Williams shocked La Liga last week by rejecting Barca’s progress – the Spanish champion has been hoping to lure him into Catalonia for a second straight summer – and signed a new deal at San Mames.
The 22-year-old Spanish winger linked him to the sports contract until 2035 after being improved financial plans and the remaining temptation with his hometown club.
With it comes expectations from both inside and outside the locker room.
Bilbao has a problem – Gaspart
Gaspart, who served as Barca president from 2000 to 2003, told the “Only Cules” podcast: “Nico is a great player, but now Bilbao has a problem.
“The players will not like it when they realize they’ve earned half, half, half of what Nico makes. And, fans, if this player doesn’t score 50 goals, they’ll roar at him, right?”
The failed pursuit of Williams led to widespread criticism of Barcelona sporting directors Deco and Gasparte were also impressed by the former Portuguese midfielder’s efforts.
He added: “No passion. This is not a criticism of Deco, a professional professional who is in Barcelona today and he may join another team tomorrow to pay him.
“I don’t charge for doing my own thing. I do it out of passion. When you do it passionately, things are hard to escape you.”
loquemáspesa es el Corazón❤️#AthleticWin #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/do1qvtqybp
– Sports Club (@AthleticClub) July 4, 2025
This never happened when I signed Maradona and Rivaldo…
The 80-year-old, vice president of Camp Nou, then took the top position and believed his passionate attitude helped the club’s world-class talent.
He said: “Barcelona is a passionate club. The enthusiasm is not filled by professionals, it is brought by those who own it. The one who has no accusations for being from Barcelona.”
“Maradona, Rivaldo, Zubizarreta, Bakero…I signed everyone and something like that never happened to me.”
