Nico Williams and the sin of not trusting Joan Laporta

BarcelonaIn the summer of 2009, Barça was looking for a left-back to fill the position occupied by Éric Abidal. The club, coached by Pep Guardiola and chaired by Joan Laporta, set its sights on Filipe Luís, a promising young Brazilian who played for Deportivo. But the Galician side, then chaired by Augusto César Lendoiro, flatly refused the transfer. They considered the Barça offer ridiculous. The buyout clause was 20 million euros, and the Catalans were offering nine million euros. At the time, it was a fortune. Lendoiro wouldn't budge, and the player, anguished because he knew he was facing the opportunity of a lifetime, would even take his cell phone to the beach, waiting for a call from his agent that never came. In mid-July, taking advantage of a trip to Milan to negotiate Ibrahimovic's transfer, Laporta agreed with Inter to sign another full-back, Maxwell. At half the price: 4.5 million euros. On the way back, a small group of journalists on guard at the airport demanded an explanation from the president. And Laporta was clear: "Barça must demand respect." When he heard the news, Filipe Luís burst into tears. That train that only comes once had just passed him by.

Filipe Luís's case bears some similarities to that of Nico Williams, who was strongly rumored to be a Barça signing last season. In fact, the club itself acknowledged its interest in the Athletic Club player. Barça was looking for a forward reinforcement and was enticed by the Basque winger's performance. He was coming off a strong season, winning the European Championship with the Spanish national team, and having the endorsement of being a friend of Lamine Yamal. The buyout clause was affordable in these times, around 60 million euros. However, the problems arose with the payment. Athletic Club demanded the sum in cash, while Barça, which lacked all the money, proposed paying it in installments. They had even offered to pay more than the release clause in exchange for splitting the deal. Athletic Club flatly refused, and the transfer was never completed.

Barça believes Nico didn't do enough to earn a contract with Barça.

As with Filipe Luís, the main reason Nico didn't join Barça is his club's refusal to negotiate. However, in Nico's case, Barça accuses the player of not doing enough to tip the balance. "The inputs were that he wanted to come, but in practice the player didn't show it. "He could have put on a lot more pressure," say those in the Barça dignitaries. In the end, Dani Olmo was hired, who was the alternative, because Leipzig did accept the financial conditions of the club chaired by Joan Laporta. "The same," said Laporta in an interview on 3Cat. The president, like Deco in an interview on RAC1, decided to give an elegant speech to the gallery. He praised quality and added that right now it's not a priority. But the truth is that, behind the scenes, the message being sent is more forceful. "Now it's easy to target."

Financial fair play was key

It wasn't just a question of setting a transfer price. It was also a question of making room for the player in the famous fair play financial. Barça didn't have one at the beginning of the summer, but Laporta and his team promised to fix things once the transfer market closed. Another reason to close the doors on Barça in the immediate future

Ultimately, Nico was right because Dani Olmo, the player who was signed in his place, was registered thanks to a fluke: Christensen's injury in August and through legal means thanks to the injunction.