Chelsea Takes Center Stage
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On Friday, Athletic Bilbao surprised European football by unveiling a new contract for their star winger, Nico Williams. The announcement was accompanied by a bold social media video featuring the young player spray-painting the number “2035” on a mural of himself in the city, which had recently been vandalized by unhappy fans. This confirmed that Williams had turned down interest from Barcelona and Bayern Munich to sign a remarkable 10-year contract with the club.
It remains to be seen whether Williams’ new contract will secure his long-term future at the La Liga club. According to Fabrizio Romano, the deal includes a release clause of approximately €95 million, indicating that the Spanish international could still move to Barcelona, Munich, or another European club if he decides to leave in the near future. For the moment, Athletic fans will be thrilled to know their star player is committed to the club, making headlines with this unprecedented contract, which is now the longest in world football.
William’s 10-year contract surpasses Erling Haaland’s deal with Manchester City, which was previously the longest in world football. Haaland had established this status when he renewed his contract with the Premier League giants in January; however, as shown in the table above, his contract is set to expire one year earlier than Williams’. Not surprisingly, the list of players with the longest contracts in European football is largely dominated by one club.
Chelsea currently holds all seven players in global football with contracts expiring in 2033. Whether it’s first-team stars like Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson, and new signing João Pedro, or promising young talents such as Dário Essugo, Mamadou Sarr, Mathis Amougou, and Kendry Páez, the Stamford Bridge club has consistently signed players to long-term deals averaging eight years. The club also features two players on seven-year contracts, midfielder Enzo Fernández and goalkeeper Mike Penders, alongside two of Williams’ teammates at Athletic, Dani Vivian and Oihan Sancet.