Ex-Man City star Laporte on Saudi move: Many players unhappy،
Al Nassr defender Aymeric Laporte said many players like him who joined Saudi Pro League clubs last summer were “dissatisfied”, citing working conditions and broken promises.
The Spain international joined Al Nassr in a €27.5 million ($30 million) move from Manchester City in August, becoming a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Laporte's comments after Jordan Henderson ended his six-month stay at Al Ettifaq to join Ajax on Thursday, with sources telling ESPN that Al Ittihad striker Karim Benzema is also exploring his options during the transfer window January transfer after a disappointing six months in the Saudi Pro League. .
“It's a big change from Europe, but ultimately it's all about adaptation,” Lapote told Spanish newspaper Diario AS. “They didn't make it easy for us. In fact, there are a lot of players who are not satisfied. They take care of us but not enough for my liking. That is to say, in Europe , they pay you a good salary, but they take better care of you.
“I'm speaking from my own experience and I don't know what other people's experience is like. For me, what I've seen is they try to bring you in, but then there's the daily life and it's different.”
Laporte, who won five Premier League titles at City as well as the treble last season, said the working culture in Saudi Arabia is different to that in Europe.
“The ultimatum you give them doesn’t matter to them,” Laporte said. “I mean, they really just go about their business. You negotiate something and then they don't accept it after you sign it… It's a little disappointing, I don't know.” [would happen] if in Europe. Of course, what they take away from you in that regard, they make up for in other ways.”
Ronaldo left Manchester United by mutual consent and joined Al Nassr in December 2022, with many other players since following in his footsteps.
“Let’s be honest, a lot of us didn’t come here just for football,” Laporte said. “Many of us are happy with it [financial gain], but I'm also looking for something beyond that which is not the economic part. In terms of quality of life, I expected something different because in the end, here we spend three hours a day in the car. In Riyadh, we spend a lot of time driving because of the traffic.”
“We are working on it every day, let's just say negotiating, to see if it improves a little bit because it is something new for them too,” he added. “Having European players who already have a long career. Maybe they are not used to that and have to adapt to have a little more seriousness.”
Asked if he was considering leaving, Laporte replied: “At the moment I haven't thought about it, but if I'm disappointed in such a short time, you wonder what to do.
“That moment is not here yet, but it could be in the future if this dynamic continues.”
