Why Barcelona were already running out of patience with Nico Williams before dramatic transfer snub - explained

The Williams to Barcelona transfer saga finally ended last Friday with the young winger putting pen to paper on a new 10-year contract at Athletic Club. Earlier in the summer, Williams reportedly agreed to join the Catalan side but eventually decided to stay back at his current club.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona started to run out of patience despite getting a verbal confirmation from Williams in June about a possible transfer. The Spanish sensation and his agent reportedly did not want to add a release clause in his contract to protect the player from running out of action in case the Blaugrana failed to register him at some point in the future. Such a condition was not implemented in the case of Dani Olmo's transfer last summer, but Williams wanted to safeguard himself.

The report added that the La Liga champions straightaway rejected the player's proposal and were insisting on completing the transfer unconditionally. Williams and his agent, on the other hand, kept delaying the move, which in turn increased frustration among Barcelona officials.

The MD report further claimed that Barcelona never stopped chasing Liverpool's Luis Diaz, even when negotiations were going on with Williams. With the transfer deal now off for the Spain international, the Catalan giants are expected to go all out for the Colombian forward as Hansi Flick looks to further bolster his attack ahead of the new season.