*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:08, 4 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:46, 24 March 2025 (UTC)
Born in Spain to Ghanaian parents, Williams made his only appearance for theSpain national team in 2016. In 2022, he chose to represent Ghana at international level, being selected for the2022 World Cup as well as the2023 Africa Cup of Nations. His younger brotherNico also plays for Athletic Bilbao, and for Spain.
Williams began2013–14 playing with thefarm teamBasconia who competed in theTercera División.[13] After suffering a knee injury in August,[14] he returned to activity in October, making his senior debut and marking it with a goal.[6] He was immediately called up tothe reserves in theSegunda División B and by the end of the same month had played his first match and scored his first goals at that level; he spent the campaign alternating between both squads.[15]
At the start of2014–15, Williams scored ahat-trick for Bilbao Athletic in a 4–0 win againstAmorebieta,[16] and followed this on 7 September 2014 with another treble in a 5–1 win overLeioa.[17] Despite only playing the first half of the season, his 13 goals from 18 appearances helped the team ascend to theSegunda División.[18][19]
On 17 May 2015, Williams scored his first goal in the top flight, netting alast-minute winner in a 3–2 away victory overElche to help Athletic come from being behind 2–0.[24] Thirteen days later, he headed a consolation goal in the 3–1 loss toBarcelona inthe final of theCopa del Rey at theCamp Nou.[25] He missed the2015 Supercopa de España victory over the same opponents three months later through injury.[26][27]
Williams scored a brace (before giving away apenalty) in a 3–1 win away toBetis, on 1 November 2015.[28] He repeated the feat the following match, at home againstPartizan in theEuropa League group stage (5–1).[29] Finding the net in his third match running, he scored "a phenomenal volley" to help beatEspanyol 2–1 at theSan Mamés.[30]
During autumn 2017, Williams scored important late goals in the Europa League againstÖstersund[33] andHertha BSC[34] to help his team finish top ofthe group. On 17 January 2018, he agreed a contract renewal, running until 2025 with an incremental buyout clause of around €80 million.[35]
On 13 January 2019, Williams scored both goals in a 2–0 homeleague win overSevilla, finding the net at San Mamés for the first time in 41 league appearances (the previous occasion being in December 2016).[36] His second, involving a turn and sprint from his own half, touch away from the goalkeeper and precise finish at high speed, was described as "incredible" – it was later awarded as theMarca Golden Goal of the season.[37][38][3] The fixture was also his 100th successive appearance in the league,[37] only the fifth Athletic player to achieve this[39] and the first outfield player from any Spanish club to do so sinceFran in 1993; for his performances, he was named the La Liga Player of the Month.[40]
Williams playing for Athletic Bilbao in 2018
Williams signed a nine-year contract in August 2019, with his release clause set at €135 million.[41][42][3] Late in the same month he started and scored in a 2–0Basque derby win[43] for his 122nd consecutive Spanish League game, setting a new record by an outfield player in the 21st century ahead ofgoalkeeperDiego López.[44] On 24 November, he repeated the feat in a 2–1 away victory againstOsasuna, breaking a 31–game undefeated streak of the hosts at theirEl Sadar Stadium; the occasion also marked his 133rd consecutive appearance in the Spanish top tier, establishing a new club record previously held byCarmelo Cedrún.[45][46]
On 17 January 2021, Williams scored from 20 metres early intoextra time of an eventual 3–2 win over Barcelona in the2021 Supercopa de España final.[47][48] On 11 September, he celebrated his 300th appearance for Athletic with a goal in a 2–0 victory againstMallorca.[49][50] A week later, he became the second player to play in 200 successive Spanish league games as he started in a 0–0 draw away to defending championsAtlético Madrid.[51] On 1 October, he set a new record outright with his 203rd consecutive appearance in the home match withAlavés, breaking the mark set byJuan Antonio Larrañaga ofReal Sociedad between 1986 and 1992.[52][5]
On 17 April 2022, after starting againstCelta, Williams passed the six-year mark since he last missed a league match for the club, and extended his own Spanish top-flight record of consecutive games to 224.[53] His six-year run came to an end at 251 on 29 January 2023, when he was left out of the squad for the fixture against the same opposition, a 1–0 loss.[54][55]
In January 2024, having been on international duty at the2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Williams made the journey back to Bilbao fromAbidjan immediately after Ghana's early elimination from the tournament at the group stage was confirmed.[56] He entered as a substitute during the second half of Athletic'sCopa quarter-final against Barcelona and scored in extra time to help his side to a 4–2 win,[57] and a fifth consecutive semi-final in the competition;[58] they went on towin the trophy for the first time in 40 years.[59]
On 24 May 2024, Athletic managerErnesto Valverde reported that Williams had unknowingly spent the past two years of his footballing career playing with a two-centimetre long shard of glass in his foot.[60] The glass was discovered when the latter underwent surgery to treat a painful scar on his left foot.[60]
Around the time of his Spain debut in 2016, Williams was also coveted by theGhana national team, being watched by their SpanishscoutGerard Nus.[66] In 2021, having made no competitive appearances for Spain which would have tied him to his birth nation permanently, he spoke of the possibility of playing for Ghana: "My parents are fromAccra and I really enjoy going. But I wasn't born or raised there, my culture's here, and there are players for whom it would mean more. I don't think it would be right to take the place of someone who really deserves to go and who feels Ghana 100%."[5] Local media interpreted this as a rejection of any approach from theBlack Stars.[67][68]
Ultimately, on 5 July 2022, Williams announced that he was making himself available for the African nation in time for the2022 FIFA World Cup.[69][70] In September, he received his first call-up for friendlies withBrazil andNicaragua.[71] He made his debut against the former, playing the second half of the 3–0 loss inLe Havre.[72] He was selected in Ghana's squad for the finals in Qatar;[73] within the team, he took the name "Kweku" due to the day on which he was born (Wednesday), aGhanaian custom.[74] On 17 November 2023, he scored his first goal for Ghana in a 1-0 win againstMadagascar in a2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match.[75]
Williams received his Basque first name in honour of aCaritas volunteer in Bilbao who helped his parents after they arrived in Spain in the year he was born.[77][3] They had been advised by an unidentified lawyer to claim to be from a war-torn country, namelyLiberia where acivil war was occurring, when they first entered the country.[78][5] His younger brother,Nico, is also a footballer and a forward; he too was brought up at Athletic Bilbao.[79][3][80][5]
Williams was one of the stars of theAmazon Prime television documentary seriesSix Dreams, recorded during the 2017–18 season.[81] He can speak Spanish,Akan, Basque and English.[82][3] In 2021, he said that he and his family had lost fluency in English, but still communicated with relatives in theTwi dialect of Akan.[5]
Williams married Patricia Morales at Begoña Basilica in Bilbao on 1 June 2024.[83][84]
^abcdefThe Athletic Bilbao website[86] credits Williams with one additional goal against Levante in the2018–19 La Liga; however, it was recorded in the official match report as anAitor Fernández own goal.[87]
^abcdefThe Athletic Bilbao website[86] credits Williams with one additional goal against FC Barcelona in the2019–20 Copa del Rey quarter-final, as initially reported in several media reports of the fixture;[88][89] however, it was recorded in the official match report as aSergio Busquets own goal,[90] with video footage of the incident inconclusive.[91]
^Ortiz de Lazcano, Javier (15 August 2013)."Iñaki Williams, de 2 a 5 meses de baja" [Iñaki Williams, from 2 to 5 months out].El Correo (in Spanish). Archived fromthe original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved6 December 2014.
^López, Jesús Fernando (6 December 2014)."Ghilas devuelve la sonrisa al Córdoba" [Ghilas brings the smiles back to Córdoba].Marca (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved6 December 2014.
^Zaballa, Carlos (11 September 2021)."Williams cumple 300 partidos como león" [Williams completes 300 matches as a lion].Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved31 October 2021.
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