Just in – Nico Williams’ move to Barcelona stalls over registration guarantees; Bayern still keen | OneFootball

After missing out on him last summer, Barcelona want to sign Nico Williams and their efforts have been focused on completing the transfer ever since the player, via his agent, confirmed his desire to join the club.

In fact, the plan was for the Blaugrana to activate his €62 million release clause after July 1, with the club assuring that everything would go ahead smoothly.

Talks stall

However, in a major development, Mundo Deportivo reports that negotiations between Barcelona and Nico’s agent have stalled in recent days, causing concern and frustration within the offices at Spotify Camp Nou.

Last week, the two parties reached a verbal agreement on the contract duration (six seasons) and salary, essentially reactivating last summer’s deal.

But once the verbal agreement began to be formalised in contractual documents, the talks hit a deadlock.

One of the key reasons the deal has not progressed during what was expected to be a decisive week is that the player, through his agent, is demanding specific guarantees of registration under conditions that Barcelona currently consider unacceptable.

The Catalans’ past difficulties registering players like Dani Olmo and Pau Victor weigh heavily in this negotiation. Nico’s agent is making it clear that the player does not want to experience a similar delay and wants those guarantees written into the contract.

Move stalls. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Barça have given Nico reassurances that the club’s Financial Fair Play situation will improve and that he will be registered in time. However, at present, that verbal assurance is not sufficient for the player’s camp – and that has not been well received by the Barcelona board.

Athletic Club pressure

Meanwhile, Athletic Club continues to apply pressure by scrutinising Barcelona’s ability to register new signings.

Last week, a meeting with La Liga was publicly disclosed, and Athletic issued an official statement confirming the encounter and criticising Barcelona’s sporting director, Deco.

The criticism stemmed from his interview in La Vanguardia, where he admitted the club’s interest in Nico and revealed that discussions had taken place with his agent, Felix Tainta.

Bayern Munich still in the race

Amidst all this, Bayern Munich remain closely attentive to the situation and continue to push to sign Nico, even though the player’s preferred destination is Barcelona.

The German champions have made it known they have no issue paying the full €58 million release clause (plus inflation adjustment), which would bring the final amount to approximately €62 million.

Given the poor relationship between Athletic Club and Barcelona, the Basque club would be far less troubled by a move to Munich than by seeing Nico in a Barça shirt.

It remains to be seen whether the player will ease his demands regarding registration guarantees. Ultimately, it will come down to Nico’s own determination to make the transfer to Barcelona a reality this summer.

The La Liga champions are not giving up on the deal, but there is clear frustration over the current direction of negotiations.