La Liga confirmed that Barcelona still fall short of the 1/1 financial threshold, which allows clubs to freely register new signings. In short, they can’t spend what they don’t have — even if it’s for a player as electric as Nico.

The Catalan club were rebuffed by Athletic Club last summer and had to compete with Bayern Munich for the winger.

Nico Williams has formally rejected a move to Barcelona by putting pen to paper on a surprise contract extension with Athletic Club. Personal terms had been agreed between Barcelona and Williams, whose release clause of €62 million ($72.