Aymeric Laporte leaves Manchester City for Al Nassr in £23.6m move

1 year ago 34

Aymeric Laporte applauds fans pursuing Manchester City's 2-1 decision by Brentford successful May

Spain defender Aymeric Laporte has near Manchester City to articulation Saudi Pro League broadside Al Nassr successful a woody worthy 27.5m euros (£23.6m).

He helped City triumph 12 large honours but made conscionable 24 appearances arsenic the Blues won the Treble past season.

In a goodbye connection connected societal media, Laporte thanked fans and team-mates for an "unforgettable" clip astatine the club.

"It has lasted five-and-a-half unforgettable years. Plenty of memories that I volition support everlastingly adjacent to my heart," said Laporte.

"From trophies to setbacks, victories to injuries, it's each been portion of my journey, and I'm grateful for perfectly each infinitesimal that shaped maine into who I americium today.

"It was an honour and a pleasance to deterioration these colours and I anticipation you volition retrieve maine successful a bully way. I volition ever beryllium a City instrumentality and I look guardant to seeing you each again."

Laporte made 180 appearances for City successful total, scoring 12 goals, but helium recovered opportunities constricted past season.

Coach Pep Guardiola opted to usage defenders Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake much often, and City spent £77m to bring successful Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol earlier this month.

"Aymeric has been an fantabulous subordinate for Manchester City during a large clip for the club," said City's manager of shot Txiki Begiristain.

"He acceptable into the squad seamlessly upon accomplishment successful 2018 and played a cardinal relation successful galore of our successes implicit the years that followed.

"The signifier of the different defenders successful the squad made it hard for him to find capable crippled clip successful 2022-23 and we respect his determination to question a determination elsewhere."

Laporte switched his planetary allegiance from France to Spain successful May 2021 and already has 22 caps, helping them triumph the Uefa Nations League last successful June.

He is the latest precocious illustration subordinate to determination to Al Nassr, joining Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic, Alex Telles and Seko Fofana astatine the club.

They are 1 of 4 Saudi Pro League clubs to beryllium taken implicit by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) successful June, the others being Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli.

Last month, Laporte's erstwhile City team-mate Riyad Mahrez joined Al-Ahli successful a woody worthy up to £30m, portion Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Neves and Neymar are among different footballers to determination to Saudi Arabia this summer.

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