“Many Players… are Unhappy” – Aymeric Laporte Raises Concern on Saudi Arabia Despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s Praise; Reveals ‘Fight’ For Contract Negotiations

Cristiano Ronaldo has the utmost faith in the Saudi Pro League. He believes the project has already surpassed France’s Ligue 1, in terms of quality. The Al Nassr skipper also hopes it will soon become one of the top three leagues in the world. Elsewhere, Jordan Henderson, who followed Ronaldo’s suit, escaped out of Saudi and returned to Europe. Karim Benzema is also mulling to take Henderson’s route. Even so, no Al Nassr star has complained about the Roshn League. But not anymore. Al Nassr’s star center-back Aymeric Laporte reveals Saudi clubs don’t ‘care enough’ about players, according to his ‘taste.’

Aymeric Laporte joined Al Nassr last year on a $27 million, three-year deal. Laporte’s was one of the many multi-million dollar deals Al Nassr and other Saudi teams facilitated last year. But Laporte reveals even such whopping deals have not panned out the way players have wanted.

Aymeric Laporte drops a bombshell on Saudi clubs with unhappy revelations

Speaking to AS, Aymeric Laporte revealed that contract negotiations have been going awry in his team lately. “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. You negotiate something and then they don’t accept it after you have signed it. They fight you… It’s a little bit of a thing that I don’t know about in Europe,” said Aymeric Laporte. (translated by DeepL). Laporte, anyhow, reminded the interviewer he was speaking solely from his experience.

This means something might have gone wrong regarding his $27 million deal. The Spanish defender added, “They do take care of us, but not enough for my taste. Soon, the interviewer asked the 29-year-old if he mulls an exit from Saudi Arabia. He is yet to mull quitting the Saudi stint, but he did not fully rule out the chances of an exit.

Laporte might leave Cristiano Ronaldo and co.

Speaking of his plans to leave Saudi Arabia, Aymeric Laporte said, “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.” The ex-Manchester City center-back added that his expectations out of a new country like Saudi Arabia too have turned dismal.

READ MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo’s Teammate Drops His Compatriot Carlos Alcaraz a Special Al-Nassr Gift

“In terms of quality of life, I expected something different because in the end here you spend three hours a day in the car. Riyadh is a lot of traffic, a lot of time wasted in the car,” he added. Considering all these admissions, it won’t be a surprise if Laporte catches a flight back to Europe. But Al Nassr might try to keep the defender happy as well. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments below.

WATCH THIS STORY: Cristiano Ronaldo and All About His Pets