Man City’s Laporte Joins Ronaldo in Saudi’s Al-Nassr
Spain’s center-back Aymeric Laporte is set to move to Saudi Arabia to join a team alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mané. This decision comes after Laporte lost his spot in Manchester City’s defense, despite the team’s significant investments in assembling their defensive lineup.
The 29-year-old Laporte is making a move to Al-Nassr, as announced by City on Thursday. The transfer is reportedly for a fee of £23.5 million ($30 million).
Laporte has fallen in the pecking order of center-backs at City. With the introduction of new signing Josko Gvardiol and Nathan Ake, who both play on the left side of defense, Laporte has been surpassed in the hierarchy. This shift is in line with the English Premier League champions’ adoption of a new three-at-the-back formation.
In addition to Ronaldo and Mané, Al-Nassr’s squad also includes Alex Telles and Marcelo Brozovic as foreign players.
Al-Nassr is among the four prestigious Saudi clubs that have been effectively taken over by the sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund. This fund holds assets amounting to approximately $700 billion and is responsible for financing the significant investments made by the kingdom in the world of football.
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At 29 years old, Laporte becomes the most recent Manchester City player to agree to a lucrative move to the Gulf State, following in the footsteps of Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez, who recently signed with Al-Ahli. Laporte, who initially joined City from Athletic Bilbao for a club-record fee of £57 million in January 2018, amassed 180 appearances during his time at the club.
In a social media video shared on Wednesday, Laporte disclosed that he would be departing from City, marking the end of his five-and-a-half-year tenure since his move from Athletic Bilbao in Spain. During his time at City, he has secured 13 major titles.
“I am proud to have represented Manchester City over the last six seasons,” Laporte said. “When I first joined, I was excited about the prospect of winning trophies.”
“However, I could not have imagined the success we would go on to achieve together. I would like to thank the coaches, my team-mates and of course the brilliant City fans for all of their support throughout my time in Manchester. I will always be a City fan and I look forward to seeing you all again,” he added.
Laporte achieved significant success during his time with Manchester City, securing five Premier League titles, the Champions League, and five domestic cups as a key member of Pep Guardiola’s squad. He will now be joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane at Saudi Pro League team Al-Nassr.
Al-Nassr is one of the four Saudi clubs that came under the ownership of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) in June. This has led to a spree of signings from star players of the Premier League and other top European leagues. Notable names such as Neymar, Karim Benzema, and N’Golo Kante have been acquired by Saudi clubs. Additionally, players like Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson, Kalidou Koulibaly, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Alex Telles, and Ruben Neves have also made moves to the Gulf State.
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