FC Barcelona forward Raphinha sent what was perceived to be a message for Nico Williams after the … More
FC Barcelona forward Raphinha sent what was perceived to be a message for Nico Williams after the Athletic Club star snubbed the Catalans on Friday.
Nico was expected to be joining Barca in the near future, and reportedly agreed terms to be paid around $8-9 million per season.
It seemed the only thing that was left was for President Joan Laporta and Sporting Director Deco to do was raise the Spain international’s release clause, which has already been done once this summer in respect to getting new goalkeeper Joan Garcia out of his Espanyol contract.
Out of nowhere, however, and on the same day UEFA fined Barca up to $70 million, Nico publicly ridiculed Barca by signing a 10-year extension with Athletic Club until 2025.
Furthermore, his previously difficult to raise release clause of $68 million has now risen to something well past $100 million, which is completely unaffordable for a club like Barca which is still trying to recover from its financial crisis earlier this decade.
By embarrassing Barca to this extent, Williams has kissed goodbye to the prospect of ever donning Blaugrana and seems to have bended to pressure from Athletic Club’s fans.
A player that won’t be losing any sleep over these developments is Raphinha. Had Williams arrived at Camp Nou, the Brazilian would have faced competition for his left wing berth which is one he had to adapt to in 2024/2025 after Lamine Yamal took the right wing for himself.
It must be noted however that when Raphinha was asked about having to battle Williams for minutes, he relished the prospect.
“Any player who comes to join the club is welcome. I think anyone who comes with the mentality of coming in, working hard and striving for the good of the team is very welcome. That is the most important thing, both for me and for the other players,” he said in Sao Paulo, at a press conference at the end of June.
“It is no coincidence that he is being considered to play with us at Barcelona and that he plays in the senior Spanish national team …. He is a player of the highest quality. He has a high level, a lot of quality,” the Brazilian added.
Though this might be the case, however, Raphinha seems to have thrown shade at Nico Williams with stories he uploaded to Instagram.
Raphinha is an FC Barcelona club man through and through
With Williams making his decision, Raphinha posted two photos via his stories. One was of the Brazilian celebrating Barca’s treble win on an open top bus in the city center, while the other showed him pointing to the club’s badge on his shirt after scoring a goal. Put simply, Raphinha, who recently renewed his contract, is an FC Barcelona club man through and through.
