Inaki Williams doubles down on Saudi Arabia Supercup stance – ‘It’s still a problem’

Athletic Club captain Inaki Williams has not backed away from his words criticising the decision to hold the Spanish Supercup in Saudi Arabia. Los Leones face Barcelona in the first semi-final this evening in Jeddah, with the final taking place on Sunday night.

Last week Williams described playing the Supercup in Saudi Arabia as s***, criticising the fact that it was difficult for Athletic fans to make the trip, and costly to travel to the Middle East. He also pointed out that often Athletic are met by a partisan crowd in favour of Real Madrid or Barcelona. Ahead of the semi-final, Williams faced the Saudi media.

“Given what’s been said, being genuine and saying things as one thinks often means one has to be a little more careful. The manager, who has more experience in this, spoke to me before going to the press and told me that he was going to try to downplay the matter. Perhaps the word I used wasn’t the appropriate, but it’s still a problem for everyone, especially for our Athletic fans,” he told MD.

Iñaki Williams, sobre las palabras que dijo acerca de la Supercopa en Arabia:

“Igual la palabra que utilicé no fue la más apropiada, pero sigue siendo una faena para todos.”

“Cuando me toca hablar, me puedo equivocar porque soy honesto.” pic.twitter.com/urZ9Jcc0J0

— Diego Cobo (@DiiegoCobo) January 6, 2026

Williams hoping to play ‘Cinderella’ role in Supercup

That said, Athletic were keen to come into the game as an underdog. Williams said that he had no issue with the lack of focus on the Basque giants.

“Ultimately, competing for a title is always special, and representing Athletic is always wonderful. We’re going for it. I think we’ve already achieved that; we were able to win a Super Cup against Real Madrid and Barcelona. We’re going to try to start 2026 well, to make people proud of their team. We’re going for it!”

“We love keeping a low profile. Playing the Cinderella role is good for us because it puts less pressure on our shoulders and allows us to surprise everyone. We already did it in 2021 and we want to do it again.”

Valverde: ‘It’s clear we’re here because of Real Madrid and Barcelona’

Manager Ernesto Valverde also took questions from the media in the build-up, and also acknowledged that Barcelona and Real Madrid were the motivation behind the lucrative deal the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) earn €52m from hosting the event in Saudi Arabia, with €23m split (unevenly) between the teams.

“Such is the way of things, it’s clear we’re here because Real Madrid and Barca are coming, and that’s what’s generating the most excitement. The thing is, we have to play two matches; anything can happen in ninety minutes, and we have to go there and capitalise on that.”

“They are a team with many different options. If we want to win tomorrow, we have to be very clinical because they usually are. Barca beat Espanyol with two extraordinary goals. They took an early lead against us in the match [in November].”

Asked about what changes he had seen in Barcelona since their first meeting of the season at Camp Nou, Valverde pointed out that the Catalans were in better form.

“There are more similarities. The style of play is the same, but the form has changed. Ferran is getting more playing time now. They force you to play a certain way by pressing high up the pitch. It’s easier to see it than to do it. Everyone does their analysis. The difficult part is convincing those who are going to be left out.”

Los Leones will be hoping that the Supercup can provide a point of inflection for the side, after a disappointing campaign. Athletic have struggled to replicate their form from last season, with a number of their best individuals looking off their best. However, a major win in Saudi Arabia could change the atmosphere at Lezama.

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