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Laporte set to leave after agreeing to terminate his contract and join Marseille

  /  autty

Former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte is set to follow Cristiano Ronaldo out of Al-Nassr this summer, according to reports.

The Spaniard, who completed a £23.5million switch from the Etihad in 2023, reportedly will 'imminently' terminate his contract with the Riyadh-based outfit ahead of a switch to Ligue 1.

According to French outlet BFM Marseille, Laporte is expected to complete a move to Roberto De Zerbi's Marseille, who failed in their attempts to acquire the 31-year-old in January.

The report claims that his signing was dependent on whether the French giants were able to secure Champions League qualification and since that objective was met, the defender could soon be on his way out of Saudi Arabia.

His exit would be the second big blow in a matter of days for Al-Nassr, who are braced for the departure of Ronaldo.

After ending their season with a 3-2 defeat, Ronaldo appeared to indicate that his time as an Al-Nassr player could be up in a cryptic social media post.

Posting to his account on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: 'This chapter is over. The story? Still being written. Grateful to all.'

With Al-Nassr finishing third in the Saudi Pro League behind Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal, Ronaldo, 40, appeared to hint that his future may lie elsewhere.

He joined the Saudi side at the start of 2023 after his second spell at Manchester United saw him exiled from the squad following a public fallout with Erik ten Hag.

While he has finished as the top goalscorer in Saudi Arabia in each of the past two league campaigns - scoring 24 goals this term - his team have failed to win silverware.

It comes days after FIFA president Gianni Infantino boldly claimed Ronaldo could play at the Club World Cup this summer - despite his team not qualifying.

Al-Nassr missed out on the newly expanded 32-team tournament, with Al Hilal the only Saudi outfit set to compete in the United States.

Infantino raised eyebrows by suggesting Ronaldo could still feature at the showpiece and revealing 'discussions' have taken place.

Speaking in a surprise interview appearance alongside streamer IShowSpeed, Infantino said: 'Ronaldo might play for one of the teams as well at the Club World Cup. There are discussions.'

Pushed on whether Ronaldo would play in the competition, Infantino doubled down, responding: 'Yeah, Cristiano Ronaldo might play in the Club World Cup, yeah.

'There are discussions with some clubs, so if any club is watching and is interested in hiring Ronaldo for the Club World Cup… who knows, who knows.'

Ronaldo's contract with Al-Nassr is set to run down this summer but reports have suggested he is close to agreeing to fresh terms to stay in Saudi Arabia.

According to The Athletic, the superstar's representatives have expressed their unhappiness with Infantino's comments on his future.