Background and career
Aymeric Jean Louis Gérard Alphonse Laporte (born 27 May 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao. Born in France, he plays for the Spain national team. When he joined Athletic Bilbao in 2010 at the age of 16, he became only the second player born in France—after Bixente Lizarazu—to play for them, going on to make 222 competitive appearances for the club. In January 2018, he signed for Manchester City. He was part of the side which won the only domestic treble in English men's football in 2019, and the country's second-ever continental treble in 2023. He moved to Saudi club Al-Nassr in 2023 and spent two seasons there before returning to Athletic Bilbao in September 2025. Laporte won 51 caps for France at youth international levels, and was called up to the senior team twice but remained uncapped. In 2021, after receiving Spanish citizenship, Laporte was named in Spain's squad for UEFA Euro 2020. He would then go on to represent the nation at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup, winning both the 2024 and the 2026 tournaments.
Aymeric Jean Louis Gérard Alphonse Laporte was born on 27 May 1994 in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, France, and is of Basque descent through his great-grandparents. He started playing football and rugby at the age of five, and began his development at Agen's football academy. In 2009, he was invited to join Athletic Bilbao after being scouted. By arrangement with the club, he spent a season with Bayonne as he was legally too young to play football in another country at the time.
Laporte arrived in Bilbao formally in 2010, joining Athletic's youth setup at Lezama, prompting debate locally over whether his signing met the criteria of their policy due to his tenuous links to the Basque region. He went on to play for the club's farm and reserve teams. On 28 November 2012 he was given his debut with the main squad by manager Marcelo Bielsa, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 away win against Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona in that season's UEFA Europa League. Laporte made his first La Liga appearance on 9 December 2012, playing one minute in a 1–0 home win over Celta Vigo. He was named in the starting line-up the following week, helping Bilbao to defeat Mallorca by the same scoreline, and was definitely promoted to the first team shortly after, signing a new contract until 2015. On 14 January 2013, he was given the number four shirt previously worn by Ustaritz, and late in the month he renewed his contract, running until 2016 and with a €27.5 million release clause. Laporte became a regular starter under new coach Ernesto Valverde, also being deployed at left-back on occasion. He scored his first goal as a professional on 28 October 2013, netting the game's only goal at Getafe. At the end of 2013–14 league season, he was voted into the La Liga Team of the Year by the reporters of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional. In June 2015, Laporte extended his link until 2019 with a release clause of €50 million. After losing the 2015 Copa del Rey Final to Barcelona, he played both legs of the 2015 Supercopa de España triumph against the same opposition, Athletic's first silverware for 31 years. On 13 June 2016, Laporte renewed his contract until 2020, with his buyout clause rising to an initial €65 million.
Near the end of the winter transfer window of January 2018, Laporte signed for Manchester City for a reported fee of £57 million (his contractual release clause amount and a record-breaking figure for both clubs). He was given the number 14 shirt, while Athletic immediately spent around half of the fee on Iñigo Martínez as a replacement. Just one day after signing, Laporte made his Manchester City and Premier League debut against West Bromwich Albion. City came out victorious winning 3–0 as they kept up their title charge. He went on to make 13 appearances throughout the season for City, helping them accumulate an unprecedented 100 points in a Premier League season. He made a total of nine league appearances meaning he was eligible for a winner's medal. Laporte scored his first goal for City on 25 August 2018, equalising against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 1–1 away draw. He made 51 appearances during the 2018–19 season as the club completed the first domestic treble in English football history (Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, plus the Community Shield). He scored five goals throughout the season, including an important goal on the final day of the Premier League campaign as City romped to victory over Brighton & Hove Albion securing back-to-back league titles and the second of Laporte's career. Overall he played a total of 4,352 minutes. On 31 August 2019, Laporte sustained an injury to his right knee, causing him to be carried off on a stretcher. He underwent surgery in September 2019. Laporte had been a regular starter for Manchester City after his return from injury during the 2019–20 season and through the start of the 2020–21 season until a poor display in a 2–0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on 21 November 2020. John Stones replaced Laporte in the centre of defence and formed a formidable partnership with new signing Rúben Dias in Laporte's absence from the starting line-up. On 25 April 2021, Laporte headed in the only goal of the game as City beat Tottenham to win their fourth straight EFL Cup.
On 24 August 2023, Laporte left Manchester City and joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr for a fee of £23.6 million. He made 69 appearances for the Riyadh-based club over two seasons, including the 2024 Saudi Super Cup final, but missed the 2024 King Cup final.
In the summer of 2025, Laporte's former club Athletic Bilbao (short of defenders with the doping suspension of Yeray Alvarez and a long-term injury to understudy Unai Egiluz) were reported as having agreed personal terms for a return to Spain, with Al-Nassr signing Iñigo Martínez as a replacement in an echo of the events of 2018 – Martínez was included in the squad for the 2025 Saudi Super Cup while Laporte did not travel to Hong Kong for the tournament. However, complications over the nature of the transaction (Laporte was said to be negotiating a release from the final year of his contract and also declined offers with higher transfer fees from other interested parties due to his desire to return to his first club and his wife's hometown, which was not well received by the Al-Nassr hierarchy) caused the process to be delayed from the Saudi end; no deal was concluded prior to the closure of the Spanish transfer window on 1 September and FIFA initially declined to grant an exceptional International Transfer Certificate. On 11 September, it was confirmed that the ITC had been granted on appeal and Laporte rejoined Athletic on a three-year contract for a reported €10 million fee.
