Barcelona’s pursuit of Nico Williams did not go down well last summer in Bilbao, and this summer’s approach has been received with even less good humour. Bayern Munich hope to profit from an

After publicly distancing themselves from the Spanish forward earlier this summer, Barcelona performed a swift U-turn. The Catalan giants appear to have agreed personal terms with Williams—reportedly persuading him to accept a salary offer which other clubs comfortably exceeded—but negotiations with Athletic have stalled.

Tensions are rising fast between Athletic Club and Barcelona — and Nico Williams is right at the center of the storm. On Thursday, Athletic Bilbao dropped a scathing official statement in response to recent comments made by Barcelona sporting director Deco about their 21-year-old star,