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Topics: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, Champions League
Luke Davies
Topics: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao, Champions League
Fans have been left stunned at Nico Williams’ ‘wage demands’ with the player linked with a move to several top European clubs.
Williams, 22, will be best known by most fans for his electric performances during Spain’s successful Euro 2024 campaign.
At the tournament, he played six times, scoring twice and registering one assist. His impressive showings saw him linked with a move to Barcelona but no such deal materialised.
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And this season he failed to continue his impressive form having scored twice in 24 competitive appearances for the Athletic club.
Despite his downturn in performance levels, several clubs are still considering a move for the player.
The Athletic’s David Ornstein reports that Arsenal and Chelsea are among several suitors while Liverpool also looked into the “viability” of a deal last summer.
Ornstein explains how Mikel Arteta “would like” to sign Williams in the winter window, but the finances involved make it “unlikely”.
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The winger’s release clause is thought to be near €60million (£49.8m) a fee which would “need to be paid in full” making a “summer transfer” more likely.
And the “size” of his salary could also be a sticking point in potential negotiations.
According to Capology, the player currently earns €200,385 per week (£166,316) but would likely command a pay rise towards the £200,000 mark if he were to join the club.
To put this into context, a £200,000 per week salary would make him Arsenal’s joint fifth-highest earner alongside Thomas Partey.
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Only Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice (both earn £240,000 per week) Gabriel Jesus (£265,000) and Kai Havertz (£280,000) would earn more.
Fans on social media were quick to give their thoughts on Williams’ reported salary demands.
One said: "The reason Nico Williams hasn't moved is because of his wages. They are gigantic compared to his current sporting level and his camp probably are asking for even more were he to move."
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A second added: "Issue with Nico Williams is the high wages and does his current ability justify those wages (plus the RC would need to be paid in full now). Add to that we’ve got big contracts for Saliba & Saka soon, making Williams our 2nd/3rd highest paid player could make them demand more."
A third explained: "Imagine Man City giving Jeremy Doku 250-300k per week, that’s the same with giving Nico Williams 250-300k per week. And from research, Doku seems to be on about 50k per week."