Barcelona have received a surprise boost in their bid to sign Athletic Club winger Nico Williams after Russian side Zenit Saint Petersburg sent the La Liga champions a donation on TikTok.
An agreement over personal terms has already been struck between Barcelona and Williams, who is now thought to be urging Athletic to show some flexibility when it comes to the payment structure of his release clause which, after fees, comes to €62 million ($71.4 million).
It is thought that Barcelona can afford to trigger the clause but, given their well-known financial issues in recent years, would rather spread the fee out over several years.
Nevertheless, Zenit have publicly offered their financial support to Barcelona’s bid for Williams, sending a TikTok donation with the message “For Nico Williams from Zenit”.
The donation found its way to X, formerly Twitter, where Zenit’s official page explained their actions.
You gave us Malcom, so happy to help! 💙 https://t.co/1KwY3581yn
— FC Zenit in English✨ (@fczenit_en) June 20, 2025
“You gave us Malcom, so happy to help!” the Russian side wrote.
Malcom spent just one season with Barcelona before being sold to Zenit in 2019 in a deal worth up to €45 million ($51.8 million). In Russia, the Brazilian winger took some time to settle but racked up a stunning haul of 23 goals and nine assists in just 27 games in the 2022–23 campaign.
That form sparked a €60 million ($69.1 million) move to Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal the following summer, with Malcom playing a key role in last season’s league title triumph.
Malcom also played just over an hour in Al Hilal’s impressive 1–1 draw with Real Madrid in their Club World Cup opener.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Happy to Help’—European Giants Donate to Barcelona’s Nico Williams Pursuit.
