Few footballers plying their trade in Europe’s top leagues have a background story quite as compelling as Nico Williams.
The 23-year-old winger broke into the Athletic Bilbao first team in 2021 and made his Spain debut a year later. His first senior trophy came when his club side won the Copa del Rey in 2024 and he was a part of the Spain squad that won Euro 2024 later that summer.
But all this was only made possible after his parents made huge sacrifices as they chased a better life on a journey that went from the Sahara to the Basque Country - and also saw his father working at another of Europe’s biggest football clubs.
From the Sahara to Stamford Bridge
Nico was born in Bilbao in 2002, eight years after his brother Inaki, but only after their parents had made a gruelling trek to the Basque Country from their native Ghana.
The brothers’ parents travelled as refugees seeking a better life, which saw them travel 2,000-miles across the Sahara desert to Melilla, a Spanish exclave on Morocco’s northern coast.
This was a journey made in extreme heat, often barefoot, with not all those who set off making it to their final destination.
Upon reaching the Spanish territory, the Williams parents climbed the Melilla border fence and were initially detained. A lawyer would tell the authorities that they were from war-torn Liberia and were subsequently allowed to remain.
This lawyer had connections in Bilbao, opening the door for the couple to travel there, where a man who the elder Williams brother would later be named after, helped them. Within months, the parents welcomed young Inaki into the world
“The situation was a bit difficult,” Nico tells FourFourTwo now. “They came from Ghana, and I think it was a difficult situation to leave their family and friends there without knowing anything about Spain.
Clearly incredibly appreciative of the choices they made, the 30-time Spain international adds: “In the end, they were very well received by a man called Inaki. From a young age, I learned what suffering is.
“I learned how to share those values that other people don’t have. Thanks to my parents, I have them. I’ve never lacked anything because they’ve always been there for me.”
Inaki and Nico’s father even spent a period in London to provide for the family, and after working at a west London shopping centre near Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, he also worked at the stadium itself.
“Yes, it’s a very strange story,” Nico, who has previously been linked with the Blues, says. “But my dad was there – he was working as a maintenance electrician, and things like that.”
