The European Championship skyrocketed Nico Williams reputation, who had already excelled at Athletic, with whom he won the Copa del Rey. But winning gold in an international tournament and shining individually with goals and assists was a plus that prompted Barcelona to show interest in signing him. The Bilbao side, always tough to negotiate with, held out and managed to renew his contract until 2027. The player spoke again, although without going into too much detail, about how he experienced those days.
“You try to avoid the fuss, but you always get the odd criticism,” he began about the disparity of opinions from one side or the other about his figure in those months of uncertainty. “On Twitter is where most of the criticism is shared. Yes, I have suffered, I’m not going to lie. Right now, now that I’ve been unlinked, I’m still receiving messages about Barca. They’ve been telling me everything. Many tell me to go to Barca, others tell me not to, they tell me ‘we don’t need you’,” he added.
It wasn’t easy for Nico to deal with the press, the rumours… and also the moves made by his teammates: “It was difficult. On top of that, the bastards like Lamine, Balde and Co. didn’t help. They were telling me ‘come now, brother, come now’. Messages every day, all the time.
‘No, I didn’t reveal anything to anyone. I talked about it in the family and that’s it. The Raphinha thing? I saw it, but I didn’t think much of it. I’m glad he’s doing well and that Barca are doing well, I don’t hold any grudges,” he concluded.
