Athletic Club president hits out over Nico Williams transfer saga
- Jon Uriarte says Nico Williams has not been protected at Euro 2024
- The 21-year-old has repeatedly been quizzed on his future
- Williams is heavily linked with Barcelona in particular
Athletic Club president Jon Uriarte has heavily criticised the Spanish football federation (RFEF) for failing to shield Nico Williams from a relentless barrage of questions about his future.
Williams has been a standout performer for Spain this summer, offering himself extremely well in both attack and defence. His contributions have helped Spain advance to the final of Euro 2024, where they are set to face England.
And due to his impressive displays, the 21-year-old has faced several inquiries from the media about whether he will stay at Athletic, or potentially join Spain teammate Lamine Yamal at Barcelona - it has been claimed in Spain already that personal terms with the Catalans are agreed.
In a statement on Thursday, Uriarte said (via ESPN): "Nico is a player who is committed to Athletic. He has been subjected to a bombardment of questions about his future in an excessive and uncontrolled manner while at the European Championships. The RFEF have not protected him.
"Respect between all the actors who make up football is a fundamental basis - or that's how we view it at Athletic - which does not include subjecting players with contracts at one club to public pressure to join other clubs."
Williams pledged his future to Athletic at the close of last year, opting to extend his contract at San Mames until 2027 rather than letting it run down and potentially leave as a free agent.
Uriarte is adamant that Athletic are fully capable of repelling any interest in their valuable assets, including WIlliams, as the club gear up for a successful season.
"There are no limits to Athletic's aspirations," he said. "We are demonstrating that we have an attractive project, a winning project for our players and our coach.
"The proof of that is that we have renewed the contracts of two of our internationals, Unai Simon (2029) and Dani Vivian (2032), while Nico signed a new deal last year until 2027. Various other sought-after players have also committed their future to the club.
"Athletic are financially, socially and in sporting terms capable of keeping players of the calibre of those named in its structure, including Nico."
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