Athletic Club’s Nico Williams (24) has confirmed that he turned down opportunities to join Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal as well as FC Barcelona in order to stay at the club.

“I never had any doubts about wanting to stay here,” the Spaniard said at a press conference. Explaining that he had “received a huge number of offers over the last three summers”, the 24-year-old winger said he had chosen of his own accord to commit his long-term future to the club where he came through the ranks. “Nobody held a gun to my head to make me decide,” insisted the player, whose future is now tied to Athletic until 2035 following the recent extension of his contract.

“Whether it was Barça or other clubs like PSG, Arsenal and many others, I said ‘no’ to everyone to stay here,” he concluded. These comments echo those of his agent, Félix Tainta, who had recently revealed the details behind his client’s eventful summer, explaining in particular that whilst Williams had indeed been open to the idea of leaving the Basque Country, the lack of guarantees elsewhere had led him to reconsider his position.