Athletic Bilbao make move to block Nico Williams' transfer to Barcelona

The Basque club have made it clear that the Catalan giants will have to activate his €58 million release clause if they want to sign the winger.

Barcelona have reportedly accepted this and are prepared to pay the sum, after agreeing on personal terms with the player.

However, according to Radio Bilbao, via Sportal, Athletic believe Barcelona are in breach of La Liga’s financial control Rule 1.1, crucial for facilitating transfers like Williams'.

This rule essentially requires clubs to operate within a 1:1 spending ratio – meaning they can only spend what they earn. Consequently, Athletic have requested that the potential transfer be blocked.

Athletic Club president Jon Uriarte and CEO Jon Berasategi are reportedly in Madrid for matters related to the women's La Liga and have used their presence in the capital to formally express their concerns to the Royal Spanish Football Federation and La Liga.

Rule 1.1 is a cornerstone of the financial control system for clubs: they can only spend what they generate in revenue.

Athletic believe Barcelona are unable to comply with this rule and therefore any attempt to sign Nico Williams should be subject to intense scrutiny.

La Liga president Javier Tebas recently stated publicly that the Catalan club is still not in compliance with this rule.

However, Barcelona president Joan Laporta remains confident his club will meet the requirements before June 30th, when the deal concerning the Camp Nou boxes is expected to be approved.