After a long wait, Aymeric Laporte finally got his dream call up to the France squad.
The Athletic Bilbao defender, who broke his leg just before the Euros, was the subject of a lot of speculation in Spain about him maybe choosing to play for Julen Lopetegui’s side instead, but Didier Deschamps’ latest squad put an end to all of that.
Always dreaming of playing for his home country, even though he has been based in Spain for six years, the 22-year-old was also the subject of a lot of club transfer rumours over the summer, notably over a move to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Eventually showing his love for Athletic by signing a new contract with the Basque club, the defender put all transfer rumours to bed, at least for the time being.
Speaking to RTL in France on Bixente Lizarazu’s radio show, Laporte explained what exactly went on this summer, and how close he came to joining the Premier League leaders.
He said: “How did I say no to Pep? By looking at the pros and cons. I spoke with him for a long time, as well as with my club. I also looked at my family, my entourage.
“It wasn’t too early. It was just pros and cons: amount of time on the pitch, me recovering from injury. These aren’t easy things to think about at my age. In the end, I had to make a choice. I did, and I’m happy.”
The player then went on to reveal his release clause at Bilbao, which is €65m for the first two years of his contract and €70m for the two years after that.
That’s a lot of money, but we all know that if Manchester City really want him, spending that amount on him won’t be too much of an issue.
