Aymeric Laporte from Al-Nassr FC was critical of the Saudi Pro League and the clubs’ treatment of the players in an interview.
Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) – The big superstar shopping last summer, plus the virtually certain awarding of the 2034 World Cup – Saudi Arabia seemed to be taking the football world by storm. But money is obviously not everything, the idyll is now crumbling. Now the next million-dollar transfer has made critical comments about their new adopted home.
Aymeric Laporte (29, M.) apparently hasn’t really settled in yet in Saudi Arabia. © Fayez Nureldine / AFP
Neymar (31), Sadio Mané (31), Karim Benzema (36) and Cristiano Ronaldo (38) – they are all now playing football in the desert. Six months ago, one amazing deal followed the next, with a total of 15 professionals moving to the Saudi Pro League for over 25 million euros each.
Including Aymeric Laporte (29). The long-time central defender from Manchester City followed “CR7” to Al-Nassr FC, and the nine-time Saudi champions transferred 27.5 million euros to England in return.
However, the defender no longer seems really convinced of his decision: “It’s a big change compared to Europe, but in the end it’s just about adapting. They didn’t make it too easy for us,” he explained in an interview with the Spanish sports newspaper AS.
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“There are actually a lot of players who are unhappy,” the defensive player added clearly. “But well, we’re working on it every day, negotiating, so to speak, and we’ll see if it gets a little better.”
Aymeric Laporte criticizes the “seriousness” of the Saudi league
So far this season, Aymeric Laporte (29, right) has made 14 league appearances for Al-Nassr FC, in which he scored two goals. © Fayez Nureldine / AFP
The many European players with long and successful careers are also something new and a change for the Saudi league.
“Maybe they’re not used to it and need to get used to a little more seriousness,” speculated the Spanish international defender.
Laporte continued to reveal that “everything is taken lightly” in the desert state. “You negotiate something and then they don’t accept it after you sign it.”
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In addition, the desert clubs do not care as much about the well-being of the stars as European clubs. “But what they take away from you in this point, they give to you in other aspects,” he said, appeasing his criticism. However, he left it open whether these aspects can only be found in the bank account.
In any case, the 29-year-old is not the first transfer who doesn’t seem to completely enjoy football life in Saudi Arabia.
Jordan Henderson (33) went to Al-Ettifaq FC in the summer after twelve years at Liverpool FC and from then on complained several times about the climate, everyday life, teammates and fans. A few days ago he returned to Europe and joined Ajax Amsterdam.
In addition to the general customs, many kickers are also said to be struggling due to the lack of spectator interest. In some cases only a few thousand fans attend Pro League games.
2024-01-20 19:20:11
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