Madrid, Jun 27: Athletic Club and FC Barcelona are in open conflict over Barca's attempts to sign Spain international winger Nico Williams.

Barcelona is trying to sign Williams for the second consecutive summer, but with Athletic unwilling to negotiate the sale of their star player, Barca's only option is to trigger his release clause, reportedly set at 58 million euros (68 million US dollars).

Barca has struggled to comply with La Liga's strict financial fair-play rules. Dani Olmo was only cleared to play after the club appealed to Spain's Superior Sports Committee, and it remains unclear whether the club is now in a financial position to register new signings without first offloading players.

Athletic was angered by an interview Barcelona sporting director Deco gave to La Vanguardia earlier this week, in which he openly discussed Williams, claiming the player had informed Athletic of his desire to join Barcelona.

In response, Athletic asked both La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to examine Barca's financial situation - a move that angered Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who told local press that Athletic should "mind its business", reports Xinhua.

Athletic president Jon Uriarte met with La Liga president Javier Tebas on Wednesday, and the club confirmed Thursday that Barca's "ability to sign players" was among the topics discussed.

"The meeting was held in Madrid in response to a request from Athletic Club made within the framework of compliance with financial fair play. Among the topics discussed was FC Barcelona's ability to sign players," confirmed the Athletic website.

The club also responded to Laporta's remarks, saying it was defending its "legitimate interest... after FC Barcelona sporting director Anderson Luis de Souza 'Deco' publicly acknowledged that they will attempt to sign a player from our first team. This player has a contract with Athletic Club until June 30, 2027. Our job is to ensure that the rules of the competition are followed."

Athletic further noted that Deco's comments follow Laporta's own admission that Barca "is working to comply with the 1:1 rule" - the regulation that allows clubs to spend income from player sales - and, therefore, the club is not currently meeting the conditions to register new players.

The pro-Barca press insists the club will sign Williams next week, but the saga looks set to continue throughout the summer.

(IANS)

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