Barcelona star hits out at Nico Williams ‘DISRESPECT’

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 23 Oct 2024 10:04 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona star Raphinha has hit out at the ‘disrespect’ he suffered during the summer transfer window, when images of his No.11 shirt were posted with Nico Williams’ name on it.

Raphinha has captained Barcelona on a semi-regular basis in the early part of the season, despite rumours over the summer that the Catalan side were doing everything in their power to attract the Athletic Bilbao star to the club.

Nico Williams has a release clause in his contract set around the €58 million mark, and after his stellar performance during the 2023/24 campaign, which was confirmed at Euro 2024, that appeared like a bargain.

Barcelona were thought to be leading the way for the signature of the 22-year-old, even if competition came from Chelsea and Arsenal in the Premier League. Nico Williams, though, is thought to favour staying in Spain, and with Real Madrid well stocked on the left, by a process of elimination that left the Blaugrana clear.

Ultimately, the winger chose to snub the opportunity of moving away, and while this no doubt pleased Raphinha, he was left frustrated by the speculation that had built up.

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Raphinha doubles his efforts

Barcelona fans had been whipped into a frenzy over the possibility of signing Nico Williams, but he said that he is using it to double his efforts.

“Making images with my number and another name [Nico Williams] was a joke in bad taste,” he said. “I commented on Instagram. It was disrespectful to my work.

“If I worked at 100% before, I’m now doing it at 200%.”

Compared

Raphinha

F (RL), AM (R)

Barcelona

Raphinha

F (RL), AM (R)

Barcelona

VS

Nico Williams

F, M (L)

Athletic

Nico Williams

F, M (L)

Athletic

2024/2025

Season Statistics

2024/2025

12	Appearances	11
6	Goals	1
6	Assists	3
997	Minutes Played	691

Raphinha, who was linked with a move to the Premier League should Nico’s transfer have been brokered, has answered his critics emphatically, scoring six goals already for Barcelona this season and laying on that number again for the club.

By contrast, the Athletic Club player has had a more complicated return to action after his busy summer, scoring only once and assisting two in his first 10 matches of the season.