Inaki Williams always knew his brother Nico was special, even if his younger sibling used to get so nervous he would ask Inaki, already a star in Bilbao, not to watch his youth games at the Athletic Club academy.

Inaki is a pioneer.

He helped raise Nico while their parents worked tirelessly to make ends meet, but also paved the way for his brother and other sons of immigrants to represent a club whose policy of only fielding players born or raised in the Basque Country inevitably meant the squad has historically reflected the predominantly white society around it.

Inaki, 29, was not the first player of African heritage to represent the club – that was Jonas Ramalho, son of an Angolan father and Basque mother, in 2011 – but he is the first black player to establish himself at San Mames, having made more than 300 La Liga appearances, including an unprecedented 251 in a row.

Nico, eight years his junior, is, in Inaki’s words, now “making waves in football” too, and any nerves the youngster feels these days are channelled into realising childhood dreams of performing on the biggest stage alongside his big brother, mentor and guardian.

“As an older brother, it makes me really proud to see how he has grown, to see how he is improving as a footballer. He has no ceiling,” Inaki tells BBC Sport. “I’m here to help him, to teach him and give him everything he needs.”

It is a journey that began long ago, and a long way from Bilbao. Their mother, Maria, was pregnant with Inaki when she left Ghana with father Felix in search of a better life.