Spain defender Aymeric Laporte has left Manchester City to join Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr in a deal worth 27.5m euros (£23.6m). The 29-year-old joined City from Athletic Bilbao in January 2018 for a then club record £57m. He helped City win 12 major honours but made just 24 appearances as the Blues won the Treble last season. In a goodbye message on social media, Laporte thanked fans and team-mates for an “unforgettable” time at the club.
Laporte made 180 appearances for City in total, scoring 12 goals, but he found opportunities limited last season.
Coach Pep Guardiola opted to use defenders Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake more often, and City spent £77m to bring in Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol earlier this month.
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Laporte switched his international allegiance from France to Spain in May 2021 and already has 22 caps, helping them win the Uefa Nations League final in June.
He is the latest high profile player to move to Al Nassr, joining Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic, Alex Telles and Seko Fofana at the club. They are one of four Saudi Pro League clubs to be taken over by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in June, the others being Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli. Last month, Laporte’s former City team-mate Riyad Mahrez joined Al-Ahli in a deal worth up to £30m, while Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves and Neymar are among other footballers to move to Saudi Arabia this summer.
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