August 25 – Spanish defender Aymeric Laporte is heading to Saudi Arabia to play with Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane after losing his place in Manchester City’s expensively assembled back line.
Pretty much at his peak at 29, Laporte is joining Al Nassr for a reported fee of £23.5 million, a blow to European teams who were interested in signing him.
After more than five years, Laporte has dropped down the pecking order at City with new signing Josko Gvardiol and Nathan Ake ahead of him as left-sided defenders. He helped City win 12 major honours but made just 24 appearances when the club won the Treble last season.
“From trophies to setbacks, victories to injuries, it’s all been part of my journey, and I’m grateful for absolutely every moment that shaped me into who I am today,” Laporte said in a post on social media.
He is the latest high profile player to move to Al Nassr, joining Ronaldo, Mane, Marcelo Brozovic, Alex Telles and Seko Fofana.
Last month, Laporte’s former City team-mate Riyad Mahrez joined Al-Ahli in a deal worth up to £30 million, while Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Ruben Neves and Neymar are among others to have moved to the Saudi Pro League.
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