Athletic Bilbao's management has accused Barcelona of violating fair competition principles and commercial ethics in their pursuit of Nico Williams, claiming the Catalan club's approach to signing the promising winger "severely damages Athletic's interests". In a show of defiance, Athletic has pressured La Liga to launch rigorous, comprehensive reviews of Barça's player registration procedures and financial status, aiming to impose regulatory barriers on their rivals' transfers.
However, Athletic's outrage has drawn scrutiny due to apparent contradictions in their own transfer history. As Sport noted, Athletic recently signed Real Sociedad youngsters Aritz El Hortelano and Aitor Paredes—both of whom were in the final months of their contracts—legal moves under transfer regulations but ethically questionable when measured against their current stance on Barça.
Critics argue that while Athletic's signings from Real Sociedad were technically lawful, the timing of such moves mirrors the same contractual exploitation they now decry in Barça's approach to Nico Williams, casting doubt on their moral consistency in the transfer market.
