The announcement of the renewal of the homegrown player has sent the numbers on Athletic’s social media soaring to unprecedented levels, surpassing even those of the Copa title or the celebration with La Gabarra
The announcement of Nico Williams’ renewal until 2035 has marked a before and after in the digital history of Athletic Club. On Friday, July 4, 2025, content related to the continuity of the rojiblanco international generated 65 million views, making Athletic the second club in the world with the most views on its official channels on that July 4, only surpassed by Liverpool FC, and first in LaLiga, ahead of Real Madrid (58M) and FC Barcelona (19M).
To put this impact into context, it’s worth noting that Athletic has a digital community of nearly 17 million followers, while Real Madrid has almost 533 million and FC Barcelona 471. Athletic’s average monthly views during the past season were 94 million, meaning that in just one day, almost 70% of the usual monthly figure was reached.
In the top 3 worldwide in interactions
Also in terms of engagement, the impact has been exceptional. The 5.3 million interactions in a single day make Athletic the third club in the world (only behind Liverpool FC and Real Madrid) with the highest total interactions on their social media channels for the day.
This milestone even surpasses the records achieved during the most exciting moments in the recent history of the Club, such as winning the Copa in Seville (April 6 and 7), the historic celebration with La Gabarra (April 11), or the Super Cup title in January 2021, reflecting the enormous impact and excitement generated by the continuity of one of the great references of the present and future of Athletic Club, whose viral video also had its backstory.
The backstory of the viral video
Just before the hooded graffiti artist writes “WIN 2035” on the mural with Nico Williams’ image, a cat appears in the frame, adding a revealing authenticity to the nighttime sequence. A stray cat that casually wandered into one of the video shots, but the production team decided to deliberately include it in the final edit.
The ideation and execution of the Athletic WIN campaign for Nico Williams’ renewal was based on the transmission, both objective and emotional, of the authenticity that distinguishes Athletic Club and makes it #UniqueInTheWorld.
The challenge for the Club was to convey emotional authenticity beyond the objective news: the decision of a footballer to prioritize his sense of belonging to zurigorri over the offers from some of the most powerful clubs in Europe.
Or in other words, the challenge was to incorporate into the narrative – like the cat in the video – all those real elements that, when combined well, like the ingredients of a good dish, leave the audience with the taste of a good true story. And what were those ingredients?
The key one, Nico Williams himself, a generational player with extraordinary personal charisma and international projection.
Secondly, the invention, already used in the previous renewal signing, of the slogan Athletic WIN, where the word not only means WIN and denotes ambition but also stands for the initials Williams Iñaki Nico, appealing to family, a crucial value for the Club and for the generational transmission of identity.
And finally, a mural that had been in the news in recent weeks for two opposing reasons. Its vandalization, firstly; and the Club’s public stance in defense of the mural as a symbol of its values, secondly.
The combination of these three ingredients is what shapes the script of a video that has already become a historic milestone in the club’s digital communication.
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