Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr teammate Aymeric Laporte dismisses claims about him stating players are unhappy in Saudi Arabia

Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr teammate Aymeric Laporte has dismissed quotes about him saying players are unhappy in the Saudi Pro League.

The former Manchester City star joined Knights of Najd last summer. He was reported to have claimed that many players are dissatisfied and are looking to leave the SPL.

In an interview with AS, Laporte allegedly said (via 90min):

"It's a big change compared to Europe, but in the end, it's all adaptation. hey haven't made it easy for us."

The reports added:

"In fact, there are many players who are dissatisfied, but hey, we are working on it every day, negotiating, and seeing if it improves a little because this is something new for [Saudi Arabia] too, having European players who have already had long careers. Maybe they are not used to this and have to adapt to a little more seriousness."

Further asked to point out the lack of seriousness he reportedly referred, Laporte said:

"In every sense, but also in daily life. Life for them, they take everything lightly. The ultimatum you can give them doesn't matter to them. I mean, they're going about their business."

It further claimed:

"You negotiate something and then they don't accept it after you have signed. They fight you. It's a bit of a bummer. In Europe, of course they can take things away from you but they give you things in other aspects."

Laporte also allegedly said that the day-to-day life is different than the terms agreed with the teams. Laporte joined Cristiano Ronaldo's team in the summer for a reported €27.5 million fee.

The defender, however, has taken to social media to dismiss the quotes. He made a tweet with an emoji:

The 29-year-old has made 22 appearances across competitions for Al-Alami, scoring two goals and providing one assist.

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Cristiano Ronaldo says Saudi Pro League is better than Ligue 1

Aymeric Laporte's alleged comments come shortly after his superstar teammate Cristiano Ronaldo spoke highly of the Saudi Pro League. In the recent Globe Soccer Awards, Ronaldo said that the SPL is better than Ligue 1.

When asked to speak about the standard of the league, Ronaldo said it's better than the French league and added that it's still improving. The 38-year-old said (via Fabrizio Romano on X):

“Saudi League is not worst than Ligue1. Saudi Pro League is more competitive than Ligue1, I can say that after one year spent there. We are better than French league already now.”

Cristiano Ronaldo has worked as a brand ambassador for the Saudi Pro League since signing with Al-Nassr on December 31, 2022. Superstars like Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez, Neymar, Karim Benzema, and more have followed Ronaldo to the league.