By LEWIS BROWNING
Published: 14:19 EDT, 2 July 2025 | Updated: 14:19 EDT, 2 July 2025
Barcelona have hit two major stumbling blocks in their pursuit of Nico Williams.
Williams, 22, has pushed for a move away from Athletic Bilbao this summer with Bayern Munich and Arsenal also reported to have been interested in signing the winger.
Earlier in June, Mail Sport understood that both Barcelona and Bayern had held talks with the Spanish international only for him to opt for the Blaugrana earlier this week.
The Spain international made his mark as one of the most promising wingers in the world after starring at Euro 2024 alongside Lamine Yamal.
He scored Spain's opening goal in the 2-1 final victory over England in Berlin and has so far made 28 appearances for the national team, scoring six times.
He had seemed all set to sign for Barca, but, according to Football Espana, guarantees put into the personal negotiations by his agent has thrown the deal into doubt.
Barcelona have reportedly hit two major obstacles in their bid to sign winger Nico Williams
The LaLiga champions had appeared to be on the verge of partnering Williams with Spain team-mate Lamine Yamal
Agent issues and debate over whether Barca could register Williams have thrown uncertainty into the situation
The report suggests that it is also unclear if or when Barcelona would be able to register him as a player. The LaLiga champions have had such issues in the past, pulling financial levers to help them do so.
The player has demanded that he be registered to their 2025-26 playing squad upon signing to ensure that his move goes through without any hitches, per Marca.
Williams must also be registered to their squad along with Joan Garcia, after they signed him from Catalan rivals Espanyol.
Although Joan Laporta has said this can be done without a problem, LaLiga have stated that the Catalans have not yet returned to the 1:1 rule.
The regulation in Spain's top tier requires a club to match every euro spent on new signings with a euro of revenue or wage savings.
Therefore, Barcelona must sell players in order to guarantee that Williams can be registered with the likes of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Andreas Christensen, Pablo Torre and Ansu Fati linked with a move away.
However, their departures are not guaranteed, which can in part explain why Williams may have some apprehensions over his switch. He appears to want to avoid a repeat of the situations that befell Dani Olmo and Pau Victor after they signed for Barcelona - which meant their registrations were revoked.
Although they were still allowed to appear for Flick's team last season, their had been a concern that they would miss out on matches as LaLiga failed to prove they were complying with the league's financial rules by the deadline on December 31 last year.
Mikel Arteta's Arsenal had been interested in a move for the Spain international this summer
Harry Kane's Bayern Munich, however, are thought to be ready to swoop in for a move
Williams has made his intentions to leave clear and would be paid £10.4million a season by Bayern if he were to join
The report also states that European giants Bayern Munich could swoop in with an offer to take Williams from under the noses of Barca.
Bayern are thought to have made an offer to pay Williams around £10.4million a season to sign for them, and could complete the move if given the green light by the player.