- Barcelona will activate Nico Williams’ €58m clause in early July
- Transfer delayed for accounting reasons, but deal with player is done
- Roony Bardghji also joins from Copenhagen for up to €3m
Key Takeaways:
Barcelona will activate the release clause in Nico Williams’ contract with Athletic Bilbao on July 1 or 2. Although all terms with the player have already been agreed, the Catalan club will wait another week because they want the transfer to be accounted for in the next financial year, which begins on July 1.
🚨🚨🌕| BREAKING: Barcelona will ACTIVATE Nico Williams' release clause between July 1st – July 2nd.
[@martinezferran] 🔵🔴🔥📆 pic.twitter.com/rnAS8ojBq0
— Managing Barça (@ManagingBarca) June 24, 2025
Nico Williams will be a Barcelona player in time for the start of preseason training on July 13, although he may be granted an extended break due to his commitments with the Spanish national team in the Nations League. This also applies to other internationals in Hansi Flick’s squad.
Barcelona are still trying to negotiate with Athletic for the €58 million release clause to be paid in instalments rather than in a single payment. According to “Mundo Deportivo,” this seems unlikely given the current relationship between the two clubs. For this reason, the Camp Nou side are prepared to pay the full amount if necessary.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona have also signed 19-year-old Roony Bardghji from Copenhagen for a fee between €2 and €3 million. The low fee is due to the fact that the talented Swede, who comes from a Syrian family and was born in Kuwait, is out of contract with the Danish club in December this year. The plan is for him to join preseason training under Hansi Flick starting July 13.