Athletic Club Bilbao has issued an official statement in response to remarks made by Joan Laporta, the president of FC Barcelona, who asked the Basque club to mind its own business after Bilbao requested La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation to review the financial accounts of the Catalan club.

Bilbao believes that Barcelona cannot break the release clause in Nico Williams' contract, which is set at €58 million, due to their failure to return to the 1:1 rule.

Bilbao stated in its announcement: "Athletic Club Bilbao thanks La Liga for its responsiveness and clarity in defending the interests of all clubs. Among other topics, the ability of FC Barcelona to sign new players was discussed in the context of financial fair play."

It added: "Athletic Club would like to express its gratitude to the Professional Football League for its responsiveness and clarity during the meeting held yesterday between the two parties, which was attended by the presidents of both institutions, Javier Tebas (from La Liga) and Jon Uriarte (from Athletic)."

It continued: "The meeting took place in Madrid at the request of Athletic Club, in the context of the commitment to financial fair play rules. Among the topics addressed was the issue of FC Barcelona's ability to contract new players, considering our club's legitimate interest in accessing relevant information, after the sports director of FC Barcelona, Anderson Luis de Souza ' Deco', publicly acknowledged that the Catalan club would attempt to sign a player from our first team, who is still under a valid contract with Athletic until June 30, 2027."

It followed: "Our interest in our affairs means our commitment to respecting competition rules."

It continued: "Anderson Luis de Souza 'Deco's' statements add to those made by the president of FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta, who publicly admitted that the club 'is working to reach the 1:1 rule', which means that at the moment it does not meet the criteria of this rule regarding player registrations."

It concluded: "We commend the complete responsiveness and clarity from La Liga through its qualified response, and we affirm that Athletic Club will defend its interests until the last breath, in accordance with the financial fair play regulations approved by all professional clubs under La Liga."