Athletic Bilbao confirmed they had talks with Laliga about Barcelona’s financial situation and the ability to register a new player in an attempt to sign Nico Williams at the Catalan club.
Barcelona has made no secret of their willingness to sign Spanish winger Williams, who has a €50 million release clause.
However, Spanish champions are still under financial restrictions and they are capable of registering new players but should comply with the 1:1 rule.
Barcelona can only spend its income and account licenses, and the club is subject to Laliga’s calculations based on its expected income.
What emerged this week was the ability of the sports to audit Barcelona’s financial situation, which was clearly a way to prevent transfers from financial fair play venues, although the Basque club insisted that they were taking action to maintain the integrity of the game.
But Barcelona President Joan Laporta expressed dissatisfaction with the approach to the movement, saying: “Everyone should mind their business. I don’t understand why they talk to Laliga, I don’t think it’s their place, but they know what they’re doing.”
Athletic’s response on Thursday led them to issue a statement titled “The Business of Movement Thinking.”
ℹ️ReuniónCon @laliga
El Athletic Club Agradece ladisposicióny Claridad del Orancimo que defiende los interests de todos los club.
En El Marco del Fair Play Financiero, Setrató, Entre Otros Asuntos, La Capacidad de Información de Jugadores por Parte del FC Barcelona.
– Sports Club (@AthleticClub) June 26, 2025
It wrote: “The Sports Club would like to thank Laligade FútbolProfesional for its willingness and clarity, the willingness and clarity shown at the meeting between the two entities, both of which were attended by the presidents of Javier Tebas and Jon Uriarte.
“This conference was held in Madrid to meet the requirements of sports clubs within the framework of financial fair competition. Given the legitimate interest of Athletic Club to access relevant information, the topic of discussion was the ability of FC Barcelona to sign players, and in Barcelona FC Barcelona sports director Anderson Luis de Souza ‘Deco’ publicly confirmed that they will be in their public spaces and they will try to sign a player.
“This player has a contract with the sports club until June 30, 2027. Focusing on our own business means ensuring compliance with the rules of the game.
“Anderson Luis de Souza’Deco’s statement added to the public statement of the president of FC Barcelona Joan Laporta himself, acknowledging that the Prague Rana Club “is working to fall under the 1:1 rule” and is therefore not currently within the parameters of the rule and used to register players.
“We thank Laliga for its full willingness and clarity in its qualified response, and we confirm that sports clubs will defend their interests to the greatest extent and comply with the financial fair play regulations approved by each of the professional clubs that make up Laliga.”
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