After weeks of negotiations, Athletic Club have finally completed the signing of Aymeric Laporte from Al-Nassr.
Laporte was set for a return to Europe during the summer transfer window, and his first choice was San Mames. Personal terms were struck early on, but a deal was delayed due to him and Al-Nassr being unable to finalise the termination of his contract – and when that was done, it came too late for him to join Los Leones.
However, Athletic argued their case to FIFA, and it proved to be successful. And on Thursday evening, the club confirmed that Laporte had made his return to Bilbao, five years after he left for Manchester City.
The news that FIFA have approved Laporte’s return could not be better news for Athletic, who are desperately struggling for depth in the centre-back department. Yeray Alvarez had a 10-month suspension confirmed this week, while Unai Egiluz will be out for a similar period after tearing his ACL in August. This left Dani Vivian and Aitor Paredes as the only senior options, but they have now been added to.
Club Statement:
The international centre-back returns to Bilbao, his home and the place where he took his first steps in professional football, making 222 appearances as a Lion between 2012 and 2018
Aymeric Laporte is coming home. The centre-back has left Al-Nassr to rejoin Athletic Club, putting pen to paper on a three-year contract until 30 June 2028.
The 31-year-old returns to Lezama, the youth academy he joined as a 15-year-old. Furthermore, Aymeric will reunite with Ernesto Valverde, his head coach during four of his six seasons in Athletic's first team.
As a youth player, Aymeric Laporte progressed rapidly from under-15 level up until making his senior debut in November 2012 as an 18-year-old under Marcelo Bielsa. His first appearance as a Lion came in a UEFA Europa League group stage away clash against Hapoel Kiryat Shmona.
After six seasons in the first team, one Supercopa, 222 matches and 10 goals, Manchester City paid Laporte's €65 million release clause in the 2018 winter transfer window and Pep Guardiola became Laporte's new coach. Before moving to England, Aymeric had renewed his contract with Athletic Club four times.
The defender won no fewer than 13 trophies in Manchester including one Champions League (2022-23) and five Premier League titles. He also scored the goal that saw City beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the 2020/21 Carabao Cup final at Wembley.
He has played 38 games in Europe's top competition, five of them for Athletic. His experience will be key to the Lions' return to the tournament.
In addition to Valverde, only four current senior players were at Athletic during Laporte's first stint in Bilbao: Iñaki Williams, Iñigo Lekue, Mikel Vesga and Yeray Álvarez.
Nevertheless, Aymeric knows the rest of the squad well, as he always maintained a close relationship with Bilbao, following Athletic from afar and never hiding his desire to return to the club.
Along with Unai Simón, Dani Vivian and Nico Williams, Laporte was part of the Spanish national team squad that won Euro 2024 and the 2023 UEFA Nations League.
Laporte said 'see you again' when he left Athletic in 2018 and he's kept his word as he returns to the Basque Country and Bilbao, his home.
Spheg
12
barca should've signed him