_(cropped).jpg)
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Nico Williams
Nicholas Williams Arthuer (born 12 July 2002) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Spain national team. He is recognised for his speed and dribbling skills.
Joining Athletic Bilbao's youth academy in 2013, he was promoted to the reserve team in 2020 and to the first team a year later, becoming a teammate of elder brother Iñaki Williams, with both winning the 2023–24 Copa del Rey.
Williams debuted for Spain's senior side in 2022. He was a member of their 2022 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2024 squads, scoring and being named man of the match in the final of the latter, as Spain won the tournament.
Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Williams joined the youth academy of Athletic Bilbao in 2013 from hometown side CA Osasuna. He began his senior career with the club's farm team, Basconia, during the 2019–20 season.
On 11 May 2020, Williams was promoted to the reserve team in the Segunda División B. He made his first-team—and La Liga—debut on 28 April the following year, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jon Morcillo in a 2–2 home draw against Real Valladolid; his brother Iñaki also came off the bench ten minutes later. It was the first time two siblings had been on the pitch at the same time for the club since Julio and Patxi Salinas in 1986.
Williams scored his first two goals for the Lions on 6 January 2022, in a 2–0 win over Atlético Mancha Real in the campaign's Copa del Rey. Seven days later, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Atlético Madrid in the semi-final of the 2022 Supercopa de España. On 20 January 2022, Williams was given a first team contract after meeting a number of clauses.
Williams was a starter in four of the first five matches of the 2022–23 La Liga campaign, and was named player of the match in a 4–1 away win against Elche CF on 11 September 2022. In the first half-hour of the match he pressurised an opponent into conceding an own goal, was tripped to give his side a penalty (converted by Oihan Sancet) then scored himself via a dribble from the right wing and powerful shot for his first goal in the competition. Coincidentally this was the same venue and opponent where his brother first found the net in the league seven years earlier. He scored again the following week, the decisive goal of a 3–2 victory over Rayo Vallecano and his first at San Mamés. After missing two good scoring chances in the 2022–23 Copa del Rey semi-final as Athletic were knocked out by rivals Osasuna, Williams was forced to deactivate his social media accounts temporarily due to the volume and nature of abusive messages sent to him; he recovered from this disappointment to score the winner against Espanyol in the league four days later.
Athletic made a strong start to the 2023–24 La Liga season with Williams providing numerous scoring chances, mainly from the left wing as coach Ernesto Valverde settled on a front line featuring Iñaki on the opposite flank and Gorka Guruzeta in the centre, supported by Oihan Sancet. With Williams's contract expiring in 2024 and media speculation linking him with clubs such as Aston Villa, Barcelona, Liverpool and Real Madrid, his representatives negotiated with the club for several months before a new contract running to 2027 was agreed on 1 December 2023. On 6 April 2024 in the Copa del Rey final against Mallorca, he provided the assist for Sancet to score, and was subsequently named Man of the Match. The final ended in a 1–1 draw and Athletic went on to win a penalty shootout to claim their first major trophy in 40 years. The club also finished fifth in the league, their highest position for eight years. He was nominated for the 2024 edition of the Ballon d'Or, finishing 15th. Despite the new contract, its relatively low buyout clause of approximately €58 million combined with his good form for club and country meant that he continued to be linked with other top clubs, most prominently Barcelona due to his friendship with Lamine Yamal, throughout the 2024 summer transfer window, though no party paid the release fee and Athletic were not interested in selling; Williams ultimately confirmed that he would be staying for at least one year longer.
Hub AI
Nico Williams AI simulator
(@Nico Williams_simulator)
Nico Williams
Nicholas Williams Arthuer (born 12 July 2002) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a winger for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Spain national team. He is recognised for his speed and dribbling skills.
Joining Athletic Bilbao's youth academy in 2013, he was promoted to the reserve team in 2020 and to the first team a year later, becoming a teammate of elder brother Iñaki Williams, with both winning the 2023–24 Copa del Rey.
Williams debuted for Spain's senior side in 2022. He was a member of their 2022 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2024 squads, scoring and being named man of the match in the final of the latter, as Spain won the tournament.
Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Williams joined the youth academy of Athletic Bilbao in 2013 from hometown side CA Osasuna. He began his senior career with the club's farm team, Basconia, during the 2019–20 season.
On 11 May 2020, Williams was promoted to the reserve team in the Segunda División B. He made his first-team—and La Liga—debut on 28 April the following year, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jon Morcillo in a 2–2 home draw against Real Valladolid; his brother Iñaki also came off the bench ten minutes later. It was the first time two siblings had been on the pitch at the same time for the club since Julio and Patxi Salinas in 1986.
Williams scored his first two goals for the Lions on 6 January 2022, in a 2–0 win over Atlético Mancha Real in the campaign's Copa del Rey. Seven days later, he scored the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Atlético Madrid in the semi-final of the 2022 Supercopa de España. On 20 January 2022, Williams was given a first team contract after meeting a number of clauses.
Williams was a starter in four of the first five matches of the 2022–23 La Liga campaign, and was named player of the match in a 4–1 away win against Elche CF on 11 September 2022. In the first half-hour of the match he pressurised an opponent into conceding an own goal, was tripped to give his side a penalty (converted by Oihan Sancet) then scored himself via a dribble from the right wing and powerful shot for his first goal in the competition. Coincidentally this was the same venue and opponent where his brother first found the net in the league seven years earlier. He scored again the following week, the decisive goal of a 3–2 victory over Rayo Vallecano and his first at San Mamés. After missing two good scoring chances in the 2022–23 Copa del Rey semi-final as Athletic were knocked out by rivals Osasuna, Williams was forced to deactivate his social media accounts temporarily due to the volume and nature of abusive messages sent to him; he recovered from this disappointment to score the winner against Espanyol in the league four days later.
Athletic made a strong start to the 2023–24 La Liga season with Williams providing numerous scoring chances, mainly from the left wing as coach Ernesto Valverde settled on a front line featuring Iñaki on the opposite flank and Gorka Guruzeta in the centre, supported by Oihan Sancet. With Williams's contract expiring in 2024 and media speculation linking him with clubs such as Aston Villa, Barcelona, Liverpool and Real Madrid, his representatives negotiated with the club for several months before a new contract running to 2027 was agreed on 1 December 2023. On 6 April 2024 in the Copa del Rey final against Mallorca, he provided the assist for Sancet to score, and was subsequently named Man of the Match. The final ended in a 1–1 draw and Athletic went on to win a penalty shootout to claim their first major trophy in 40 years. The club also finished fifth in the league, their highest position for eight years. He was nominated for the 2024 edition of the Ballon d'Or, finishing 15th. Despite the new contract, its relatively low buyout clause of approximately €58 million combined with his good form for club and country meant that he continued to be linked with other top clubs, most prominently Barcelona due to his friendship with Lamine Yamal, throughout the 2024 summer transfer window, though no party paid the release fee and Athletic were not interested in selling; Williams ultimately confirmed that he would be staying for at least one year longer.