Luis de la Fuente hits back at Athletic Club’s criticism of Nico Williams situation - “They have freedom”
Earlier this week, Athletic Club president Jon Uriarte criticised the ongoing media speculation on Nico Williams’ future - in particular, he took issue with the 21-year-old regularly being asked about links to Barcelona, and he blamed the Spanish Football Federation for not protecting Williams in this sense.
Because of Spain’s run to the Euro 2024 final, Williams has regularly conducted interviews with different Spanish media outlets. Because there has been so much speculation surrounding his future, it has been a common question asked of him. Every time, he’s stayed professional, and confirmed that he is only focused on matters in Germany.
Luis de la Fuente was asked about the subject during an interview with RNE (via Relevo), and he defended the Federation from Uriarte’s criticism.
“We totally and absolutely protect the players, but they have freedom. We know that regardless of their professionalism, what happens outside continues to happen and we give naturalness to those situations.
“We spoke with the players, and they are focused on what is happening here. How they handle those questions in interviews, how they manage those moments depends on the player - they can decide whether they want to talk about it or not. He is free to say yes or no.”