Confirming Return to Europe, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr Teammate Puts His Saudi Pro League Future in Doubt

Last summer the soccer community witnessed the mass exodus of remarkable talent from Europe to the Saudi Pro League. While it signaled the inception of something unique, the tide quickly shifted to Jordan Henderson. He made headlines for becoming the first to leave the Middle East and return to Europe. Now, following in Henderson’s footsteps is another teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo, as he revealed earlier too how a few players were “unhappy” with the Saudi clubs.

Aymeric Laporte never had a second thought when he decided to leave Manchester City for the Knights of the Najd. The Spanish center-back was open and parted ways with the treble winners to take on a new challenge. But it looks like he is already disinterested. As per a news-based X account named @Nfcdiario, Laporte expressed his desire to return to Europe. He said, “I will very likely return to Europe in the future.” 

Notably, Laporte joined Al Nassr last year on a three-year contract valued at $27 million. Consequently, whether he will depart after fulfilling his contractual obligations or prematurely terminate his agreement remains uncertain. But this isn’t the first time he dropped a bombshell on his future.

When discussing his potential departure from Saudi Arabia earlier, he remarked, “At the moment, I haven’t thought about it, but if I’m disappointed in such a short time, you wonder what to do. It’s not that time yet, but in the future, it could be if that dynamic continues.” He stated that his initial expectations for living in the Gulf Country have soured. “Riyadh is a lot of traffic, a lot of time wasted in the car”, he said. In fact, the 29-year-old once allegedly expressed worry about Saudi Arabia’s treatment of players.

Laporte revealed that many players are ‘unhappy’, amid the Cristiano Ronaldo Saudi era

Aymeric Laporte once disclosed that contract negotiations within his team have encountered difficulties. The treble winner said, “They [Saudi clubs] haven’t made it too easy for us. In fact, there are many players who are unhappy… They really go their own way.” Laporte said that even after making negotiations, Saudi clubs don’t accept it after the contract is signed. Instead, they fight back. 

Recalling his older decision to move from Europe to Saudi, Laporte said, “I also made that decision for the moment. I think it was the right one, due to life circumstances… Because of my situation in City… I had achieved almost everything and I had been playing for two years in a place that was not the position that I did not want to play.”

And now he felt that Saudi wasn’t the ideal place for him, so it got a little frustrating because he could not display his best performance. So he intends to return to Europe soon.

However, Laporte emphasized that he was only speaking from his own experiences. While this suggests that something went wrong during his negotiations, he accepted the fact that clubs do take care, but not as per his ‘taste.’ Whatever the case may be, it appears that Laporte is gradually distancing himself and is open to a return to Europe. It remains to be seen what unfolds regarding his future at this stage.

READ MORE: Manchester City Refuses to Let Joao Cancelo Depart Despite Lack of Desire to Return Amidst Strong Interest From Saudi Arabia and England- Reports