Will Nico Williams live to regret rejecting Barcelona? Marcus Rashford revival highlights how Athletic Club star would have become a star with the Blaugrana

Barca first tried to sign Williams last year, and one could understand why. The club may have been once again struggling to adhere to La Liga's financial regulations, but the buy-out clause in the Basque winger's contract was just €58 million (£51m/$67m), which felt like an opportunity too good to pass up.

Williams had just played a key role in Spain's Euro 2024 triumph alongside his good friend Lamine Yamal, and the prospect of the pair working in tandem at club level too didn't just excite everyone in Catalunya; it was also a tantalising prospect for football fans all across the globe. However, Williams ultimately decided to stay at San Mames for at least another year, so Barcelona ended up signing Spain attacking midfielder Dani Olmo instead.

“Nico is a player who, yes, we were interested in during the summer," Barca sporting director Deco told Mundo Deportivo in November of last year. "We tried to bring him in, but from there, the player made a decision, and life goes on.

"We brought in Dani Olmo, who was our priority because we didn’t have that type of player in our squad. The idea with Nico was to add more competition upfront, because we wanted high-level competition, but once the player shows no interest in coming, there's no further discussion." And there wasn't, until the end of last season.

Raphinha ostensibly served as Barca's left winger during their domestic treble triumph last season, but he repeatedly drifted into more central areas - and to devastating effect, with the Brazilian racking up 57 goals and assists in all competitions (more than anyone else across Europe's 'Big Five' leagues bar Liverpool's Mohamed Salah).

Consequently, Hansi Flick was keen to move Raphinha into the No.10 role that the frustratingly inconsistent Olmo had failed to make his own while dealing with niggling injuries and almost incessant uncertainty surrounding his registration as a Barcelona player, meaning that when the transfer window reopened during the summer of 2025, the Blaugrana once again went looking for a world-class left winger.

Liverpool's Luis Diaz was their primary target, but the €75, (£66m/$86m) asking price represented a major problem for the cash-strapped Catalans, so it came as no surprise to see the Colombian ended up at Bayern Munich instead. Rashford, thus emerged, as a very attractive proposition for book-balancing Barcelona, given he was available on loan with a view to a permanent transfer for a knockdown fee.

However, it was at that point that Barcelona were made aware of Williams' interest in belatedly joining the Blaugrana. There was one major catch, though.

Having seen what Olmo went through during the first half of last season, Williams quite wisely wanted a release clause inserted into his contract in the event that Barca were unable to register him in time for the start of the Liga season. It was by no means an unprecedented request. As well as Olmo, Ilkay Gundogan and Jules Kounde had also previously secured release clauses upon joining Barcelona.

However, the Blaugrana refused to grant Williams one - not least because they would have lost Olmo for nothing last season had the Catalan not been so determined to stay at the club.

"We said we wouldn't accept the conditions they set us because no player is going to impose any restrictions on us, and in the end, nothing happened," Deco told Mundo Deportivo on September 30. "We gave them a deadline to respond, but they didn't respond; they went their way, and we went ours."

And the collapse of the deal has worked out very well for Barca.

Williams started the season in sensational fashion for Athletic, scoring one goal and creating two others in the Basques' opening-weekend win over Sevilla. However, he's not been directly involved in a single strike since, primarily due to a chronic groin problem called pubalgia - which has also sidelined Yamal in recent weeks - and has ruled the 23-year-old out of his side's crucial Champions League clash with Newcastle on Wednesday.

Rashford, by complete contrast, looks fitter and sharper than he has done for two years. After a slightly slow start to his Barca career, the Englishman has gone from strength to strength since netting a brilliant brace in the 2-1 win at St James' Park on September 18.

Raphinha's own injury has obviously freed up space in the Barca attack for Rashford, but enormous credit must go to the 28-year-old for making the most of his chance to shine. Indeed, going into Wednesday's Champions League meeting with Club Brugge, Rashford has been involved in more goals in all competitions (11) than any other member of Flick's squad so far this season.

"I'm happy with him," the German coach told reporters after Rashford scored the killer third goal in Sunday's 3-1 win over Elche. "I knew he could play at this level and he's shown it. He's an important player."

Unsurprisingly, Barca are feeling pretty pleased with themselves right now. Being snubbed by Williams for the second summer in a row was bitterly embarrassing for the Blaugrana and it only placed even further strain on their relationship with Athletic, who had very openly and very deliberately called the Catalans' ability to actually afford Williams into question, resulting in Laporta "respectfully" telling the Basques to "take care of their own business and not look into others'".

Barca also engaged in some rather unnecessary revisionism, with Laporta claiming that he had only ever been really interested in signing Diaz or Rashford during the summer, thus effectively blaming Deco for reviving the club's ill-fated interest in Williams. Deco, for his part, claimed that Williams had never really fit the profile of the kind of forward they were seeking.

"If you bring in Nico, you have a right and a left winger, but not so much a No.9," the ex-Portugal international told Mundo Deportivo, alluding to the fact that Rashford can also play as a centre-forward. "Of course, if a great player like Nico asks us to come, when the agent looks for us, we'll talk, and that's how it's been. Football is like that.

"But the player, for whatever reason, didn't want the conditions that were proposed. The agent has his interests, and we don't know how things are going, but there's no controversy. It's a very easy matter."

And it's one that could end, as far as Barca are concerned at least, with Rashford's loan deal being made permanent at the end of the season for what's looking like a bargain €35m (£30m/$40m).

Obviously, one can never take anything for granted when it comes to Barca because of their precarious financial situation. There is no guarantee that they'll have sufficient space on their salary bill to sign Rashford next summer - unless he agrees to certain sums and stipulations. However, if Barca do activate their option to buy, it would likely kill off what little chance there is left of the club ever resurrecting the Williams deal for a third time.

When one also considers that Diaz is flying at Bayern, Williams' hopes of finally securing a move to one of Europe's elite next summer actually look quite slim. After all, Arsenal are the only other top team to have been repeatedly linked with Athletic's No.10 and they brought in two wingers during the summer in Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke.

Is there a chance, then, that Williams may end up regretting rejecting Barca - in much the same what that another proud Basque Martin Zubimendi realised he'd made a mistake staying at Real Sociedad last year? Requesting an exit clause from Barca was unquestionably prudent on Williams' part, while it should not be forgotten that he's effectively living his dream at Athletic, where he gets to play alongside his brother Inaki for a club that has a stronger bond with its people than arguably any other in world football. It's hard to put a price on that kind of privilege.

Nonetheless, the mere fact that Williams twice entertained the idea of moving to Catalunya shows that he is at least interested in testing himself at the very highest level on a regular basis. It also feels telling that while his Athletic buy-out clause was increased when he signed his 10-year contract during the summer, it's still only €90m (£79m/$103m) - which is not an outrageous amount of money for one of the most exciting wingers in world football.

For the time being, of course, Williams' only objective will be getting back on a football field, so that he can then set about getting back to his brilliant best for his beloved Athletic. But he'd definitely be forgiven for looking at what Rashford is doing at Barca right now and thinking that could have easily been him - and maybe even should have been.

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