Athletic Club want La Liga to block Barcelona’s move for Nico Williams – report | OneFootball

Barcelona are set to shore up their ranks in the attacking unit by bringing in Swedish talent Roony Bardghji.

However, the FC Copenhagen youngster is a long-term investment and Barcelona still remain keen on adding immediate quality to the attacking unit by signing Nico Williams.

The club have an agreement in place with the Spanish international, who is ready to join the Catalans this summer.

Barcelona will need to meet the winger’s €62 million release clause as Athletic Club are not willing to reduce their asking price for the attacker. In addition, the Basque outfit are determined to block the player’s transfer to Barcelona.

Athletic Club’s plan to block Nico transfer

According to Cadena SER, Athletic Club are preparing for a direct confrontation and plan to ask La Liga to block Barcelona’s move for Nico Williams entirely.

Nico Williams’ future remains a hot topic in the transfer market (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

The club’s president, Jon Uriarte, is in Madrid to inform the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga of their intention to audit all of Barcelona’s financial operations.

The Basque club’s strategy is not to simply accept the payment of the forward’s €62 million release clause.

Instead, they will formally argue that Barcelona do not comply with La Liga’s 1:1 financial rule, which dictates that a club can only spend what it generates.

Athletic will demand that the authorities prevent the transfer from being processed until Barcelona can prove their financial compliance.

This aggressive stance against Barcelona comes at a time when Nico has reportedly informed Athletic of his desire to join Barça, with the relation between the two teams not at its best.

Realising Nico is dead set on a move away from Athletic Club, the club are ready to take whatever step they can to make life difficult for Barcelona.