Aymeric Laporte has reportedly agreed to terminate his £390,000-a-week contract in Saudi Arabia, despite having a deal in place until 2026. The former Manchester City centre-back moved to the Middle East in 2023, joining Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr side. But the £20million switch has not gone entirely to plan after a lack of silverware, while the Frenchman has been dropped from the team since their Asian Champions League semi-final defeat to Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale.
Spanish outlet AS claim that both the 30-year-old and Al-Nassr have agreed to cut ties a year early, placing Laporte on the free agent market. His relationship with head coach Stefano Pioli is said to have deteriorated, which is the reason for his absence from the starting line-up in recent matches.
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Laporte is said to have plenty of interest from European clubs for his services, especially on a free transfer. Real Madrid and Marseille are two clubs mentioned, but the Spanish defender will soon be free to negotiate with any interested parties ahead of the 2025/26 season.
He may need to take a pay cut to return to Europe, however, with only Kalidou Koulibaly and Virgil van Dijk earning more than Laporte in world football as defenders. Koulibaly secured a £553,225-a-week deal when he left Chelsea for Saudi, while Van Dijk’s new Liverpool contract bumped him up to around £400,000-a-week.
A year after heading to the Middle East, Laporte proved that he was still one of the world’s top defenders by playing a leading role in Spain’s Euro 2024 win. He played every minute of the knockout rounds and insisted at the time that he proved his doubters wrong.
“There are always people who talk too much in life,” he told the Daily Mail. “Before the Euros, so many people doubted my capacity to play these kinds of games just because I went to Saudi.
“They have to remember that I am a professional and super competitive. If you are competitive and want to achieve big things, you try your hardest to reach the highest level. It was a reminder to everyone. People like me and N'Golo Kante proved in the Euros that we can keep our level and more.”
He did lament some aspects of life in Saudi, complaining that “the traffic is very busy” and “the weather is very hot” but at the time he was a key player in a side challenging for league and continental success.
But Al-Nassr are 11 points behind leaders Al-Ittihad and out of the Asian Champions League, while Laporte has now found himself on the fringes of the squad, ready to leave for a new opportunity.