'They offered him to us' â?? Deco hits back at Athletic Club over Spanish-Ghanaian starâ??s failed Barcelona move

Barcelona sporting director Deco has pushed back against claims that the Catalan club were actively chasing Nico Williams, insisting the Athletic Bilbao winger was instead offered to them.

His comments reopen a transfer saga that twice saw the highly-rated attacker hold talks with Barça before opting to renew in Bilbao.

Williams, who was born in Spain but is of Ghanaian heritage through his parents, has been a long-term target for Barcelona, though negotiations have failed to materialize into a deal.

Despite public perception that the club pursued him aggressively, Deco stressed that the approach came from the player’s camp.

“We weren’t the ones who sought out Nico. If a great player like Nico tells us he wants to come, when his agent contacts us, we talk, and that’s how it went. That’s how football works,” Deco told Mundo Deportivo.

“The player, for some reason, didn’t accept the terms offered, the agent has his own interests, and we don’t know exactly how the situation evolved, but there’s no controversy.”

Deco also underlined that the breakdown was due to the demands made during talks.

“We said we didn’t accept the conditions imposed on us, because no player can impose conditions on us, and in the end nothing happened.

"We gave them a deadline to get a response, but they didn’t respond; they went their own way and we went ours.”

The Portuguese-born executive expressed irritation at Athletic’s remarks concerning Barcelona’s financial issues under LaLiga regulations, suggesting they were misplaced.

“I don’t want to get involved in matters that aren’t my responsibility. I deal with the players and the day-to-day management of the club, but I don’t think Bilbao is an example to follow in this regard.

"We weren’t the ones looking for their player, we weren’t the ones chasing their player. They should be more concerned about his agent, who came to Barça several times to offer us the player.”

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