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According to Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte is set to join Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr this summer.
Laporte joined Manchester City from Athletic Bilbao for a reported transfer fee of £57 million in January 2018. The 29-year-old established himself as an integral piece of Pep Guardiola's defense, helping the Cityzens find success.
The Spain international has made 180 appearances for City across all competitions, scoring 12 goals, and winning 13 major trophies with the club.
Despite being a part of City's treble-winning squad last season, Laporte found himself struggling to break into the starting XI. Guardiola preferred the likes of John Stones, Ruben Dias, and Manuel Akanji over the Frenchman, limiting him to just 24 appearances in all competitions.
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Having lost his starting spot at Manchester City, Laporte has reportedly decided to trade Premier League football for the Saudi Pro League. Journalist Santi Aouna posted the following on Twitter (now known as X) today (August 20):
"EXCL: Aymeric Laporte has said YES officially today to join Al-Nassr. Contract until June 2026 and ~€25M salary by year. Agrement already reached between the clubs. Last details [in the process of being finalized]"
Aymeric Laporte would be a massive signing for Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr. The Knights of Najd's head coach, Luis Castro, has already acknowledged that the club could potentially strengthen by signing a new center-back. Laporte could be the ideal player to transform the club's defense into a formidable unit.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr have made a poor start to their Saudi Pro League campaign
The addition of Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte could potentially do wonders for Al-Nassr after their horror start to the 2023-24 Saudi Pro League campaign. Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. have lost both their opening games this season.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a phenomenal outing during the Arab Club Champions Cup prior to the start of the Saudi Pro League. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner scored six goals in six appearances, including a brace in the final against Al-Hilal to lift his first trophy for Al-Nassr.
Unfortunately, he picked up a knock during the final (August 12), rendering him unavailable for Al-Nassr's season opener against Al-Ettifaq two days later. The Knights of Najd were defeated 2-1 by Steven Gerrard's men.
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the starting XI to face Al-Taawoun on August 18, starting alongside Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic, and Seko Fofana. However, Al-Nassr suffered another loss, losing 2-0 at their home ground.
The Riyadh-based outfit are currently 15th in the table and are yet to get off the mark. They will face Shabab Al-Ahli in the AFC Champions League play-off on August 22.
