Football has never been knocked off top spot as the favourite soap opera of the masses, or opiate depending on who you’re reading, since its rise to prominence over the course of the 20th century. Yet one significant shift in the game itself over the last couple of decades is the rise of the spin-off show: the transfer market. A manner of turning a 90-minute game into a 24-hour news cycle.
And for the last two summers, Athletic Club have become a leading character in the summer soaps, despite their Basque-only policy. On both occasions, the protagonist, Nico Williams, has given Barcelona the slip, and sent the narrative skidding into a left turn. At the end of it all, Athletic Club kept their best player, one of Spain’s most talented forwards, and a star with an international profile that Athletic have not had this century.
A goal and two assists on in the number 10 shirt at San Mames in the La Liga opener were sufficient proof in the dessert. There is no shortage of cynicism and points-scoring attached to how Williams’ summer unfolded, but it is inarguable that his decision to remain in Bilbao was the latest evidence that times are changing in the Basque Country.
“Going back, there was Javi Martinez, Fernando Llorente, Aymeric Laporte, and myself – we all left,” Ander Herrera tells Football España.
“And they were not able to keep us. I remember, I was in my third year, and I did not have a contract offer. So when it came to the end of the season, I left. And I think that now, they are doing things in the right way.”
Just 12 hours after the first reports of Williams’ considering pulling out of a move to Barcelona emerged, the younger brother of the iconic duo appeared on social media smiling with with a new ten-year contract.
“I’m not criticising the past, but now they are doing things differently, and they are so quick. Oihan Sancet, Dani Vivian, they are on long contracts, and the club already know the key players and when to offer them a contract. So I think that keeping these players, is what is getting Athletic closer to the top.”
Both Sancet and Vivian are on contracts until 2032 themselves, the former announced to general surprise to on the San Mames pitch two seasons ago. The best players at Athletic Club are choosing to commit themselves to the club on deals that for those without an understanding of what Athletic means to them, are head-scratchingly long. Knowing Williams though, Herrera says that the platform is in place for him to become an Athletic great.
“For me, he thinks he can fight for trophies in Bilbao. They can fight for Europe every year, he feels important. It’s also important that you feel like a key player there. You have responsibility not just in the game, but also to represent your club.”
“I think he feels he can be the best player at the club for the next ten years, but I will say this: he is hungry. I know him well, and he wants to achieve things. So I believe that he feels like he can take Athletic to the next level. It won’t be easy, but I think he believes he can do it.”
There is no escaping the fact that Williams’ decision to stay is impossible to understand without an appreciation for Athletic’s unique relationship with the Basque Country though. For their 125th anniversary in 2023, the club sent every baby born in the region an Athletic bib. The city of Bilbao itself has a population of 350,000, and yet a million people lined the streets to celebrate their Copa del Rey win last year.
Somewhere in those streets, the Williams brothers were found leading impromptu celebrations the night before their parade, and walked home with the fans that gathered. What Athletic Club can offer its players, in an increasingly cold and callous business, is romance.
“I’ve been there twice, for three years between 2011 to 2014, and then from 2021 to 2024. What I like from Athletic, is the philosophy, the way they promote from the youth team, the respect they have for senior players, for the institution, and they always put the club first.”
“Football changes, but Athletic don’t change that much, it’s still romantic, they give so much importance to the fans, and the respect they have for the fans that go to Lezama. Everyone stops to give the kids a photo or an autograph.”
The popular slogan popularised by Narcis de Carreras in 1968 explains that the club Williams could have joined this summer are ‘more than a club’. Herrera, speaking more generally about Athletic, unintentionally stumbles into the comparison.
“There are some people that do not like football, that if you ask them, do you watch football, they say no. But if you ask them if they watch Athletic, they say yes. If you go to your neighbours they are Athletic fans. What it means to the Basque Country, is that everyone supports Athletic, and it is more than club – more than just a football club,” he corrects, realising he is at risk of an unwanted headline. “It goes way beyond that.”