From time to time, we see mentions in the Spanish media that Liverpool made a strong offer to sign Iñaki Williams from Athletic Bilbao back in 2019.
It was this year that outlet AS claimed the Reds had put €80m on the table to buy the player back then, as they were ready to trigger his release clause.
The move obviously didn’t happen, with Williams then signing a new deal with Athletic and his clause going up to €125m.
Since it’s still not clear whether Liverpool put that money on the table in 2019, that was now directly asked to former Athletic Bilbao president Aitor Elizegi.
He was interviewed by Durangaldeko Telebisa (via El Desmarque), and one of the main questions was about the Reds’ bid, and it was very direct: ‘Did Liverpool make an offer?’
“Iñaki in 19 was everything: the goal, he did the kilometres… I feel proud to have extended their contracts. They are both in the World Cup. I don’t want to see a Williams with a backpack on his shoulder. It’s not my turn, I’ve seen them arrive, grow… They wanted to take Nico from the academy, but Gaizka and Marcelino were intelligent. Yes, Iñaki could have escaped us. There is the proposal from England, his clause was €80m. The normal thing was to consolidate a player like him, and as a guy he is incredible. I prefer Athletic to be able to defend themselves with him on the field. A player of that level meets the perfect profile for that Premier League. Now they don’t know what to do with the money, in 2019 they had plenty of it.”
Tt the age of 28, Iñaki Williams is less likely to get involved in a big transfer to the Premier League. His brother Nico, however, is getting noticed by European giants, and was even linked to Liverpool this week, with reports saying his release clause could be a ‘temptation’ for the Reds.
