Aymeric Laporte

Athletic Bilbao

Laporte arrived in Bilbao formally in 2010,^[11] 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.^[12][8] He went on to play for the club's farm and reserve teams.^[13] On 28 November 2012 he was given his debut with the main squad by manager Marcelo Bielsa,^[14] playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 away win against Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona in that season's UEFA Europa League.^[15]

Laporte made his first La Liga appearance on 9 December 2012, playing one minute in a 1–0 home win over Celta Vigo.^[16] He was named in the starting line-up the following week, helping Bilbao to defeat Mallorca by the same scoreline,^[17] and was definitely promoted to the first team shortly after, signing a new contract until 2015.^[18] On 14 January 2013, he was given the number four shirt previously worn by Ustaritz,^[19] and late in the month he renewed his contract, running until 2016 and with a €27.5 million release clause.^[20]

Laporte became a regular starter under new coach Ernesto Valverde, also being deployed at left-back on occasion.^[21][22][23] He scored his first goal as a professional on 28 October 2013, netting the game's only goal at Getafe.^[24] 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.^[25][26]

In June 2015, Laporte extended his link until 2019 with a release clause of €50 million.^[27][28] After losing the 2015 Copa del Rey Final to Barcelona,^[29] he played both legs of the 2015 Supercopa de España triumph against the same opposition, Athletic's first silverware for 31 years.^[30]

On 13 June 2016, Laporte renewed his contract until 2020, with his buyout clause rising to an initial €65 million.^[31][32]

Manchester City

Near the end of the winter transfer window of January 2018, Laporte signed for Manchester City for a reported fee of £57 million^[33] (his contractual release clause amount and a record-breaking figure for both clubs). He was given the number 14 shirt,^[34] while Athletic immediately spent around half of the fee on Iñigo Martínez as a replacement.^[35] 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.^[36] 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.^[37]

Laporte scored his first goal for City on 25 August 2018, equalising against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 1–1 away draw.^[38] 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).^[39] 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.^[40] On 31 August 2019, Laporte sustained an injury to his right knee, causing him to be carried off on a stretcher.^[41][42] He underwent surgery in September 2019.^[43]

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.^[44] 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.^[44] On 25 April 2021, Laporte headed in the only goal of the game as City beat Tottenham to win their fourth straight EFL Cup.^[45]

Al-Nassr

On 24 August 2023, Laporte left Manchester City and joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr for a fee of £23.6 million.^[46][47] 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.

Return to Athletic Bilbao

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^[48] – 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)^[49][50] 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.^[51] On 11 September, it was confirmed that the ITC had been granted on appeal and Laporte rejoined Athletic on a three-year contract^[52][53] for a reported €10 million fee.^[50]

France

Laporte represented France at under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels,^[54] captaining each side.^[55] He was part of the team that came runners-up to Serbia in the 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Lithuania, and was selected in the Team of the Tournament.^[56]

On 24 March 2016, in a 2017 European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Scotland in Angers, Laporte was stretchered off with a fracture and dislocation to his right fibula and ankle, concluding his season prematurely.^[57] Previously, in October 2015, he stated that he would consider representing Spain if not selected by France for UEFA Euro 2016.^[58] In August 2016, at the behest of new national manager Julen Lopetegui, Laporte began the process of making himself eligible for Spain.^[59] A month later, he was called up to the senior France squad by Didier Deschamps for 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and the Netherlands in October,^[60] and stated he had decided not to apply for Spanish nationality with the continued aim of playing for France.^[61] He did not take part in either match.^{[citation needed]}

In August 2019, he was called up for France's UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying fixtures against Albania and Andorra.^[62] However, two days later he was injured playing for his club and ruled out of any involvement.^[41]

Spain

In May 2021, the Spanish Council of Ministers granted Spanish nationality to Laporte following a process initiated on his behalf by the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF); it was later reported that a phone call to the player from national coach Luis Enrique encouraging him to join the squad had been a decisive factor in completing the process^[10] (Laporte had previously claimed in late 2018 that "playing for Spain is out of the question" and that he would not apply for dual citizenship).^[63] FIFA approved the change of association later that week, allowing him to play for Spain at the upcoming UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.^[64]

On 24 May 2021, Laporte was included in Spain's 24-man squad for Euro 2020.^[65] On 4 June, he made his Spain debut when he started in a friendly goalless draw with Portugal.^[66] He scored his debut goal for the national team on 23 June, in the group stage 5–0 routing of Slovakia.^[67] Spain lost to eventual winners Italy via a penalty shootout at the semi-final stage.

He was selected for the 2022 FIFA World Cup squad and made three appearances in the tournament as Spain were again eliminated on penalties, this time by Morocco in the Round of 16.^[68]

On 14 July 2024, Laporte helped Spain win their fourth European title at UEFA Euro 2024, playing in every knockout game as a starter.^[69] At the semi-final stage they defeated France, in which Laporte's defensive partner was Robin Le Normand, also a French native with a similar path of naturalisation following a long period playing in Spain for a Basque club (Real Sociedad in his case).^[70]

On 25 May 2026, Laporte was named in Spain's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.^[71] He started all eight of the matches as they progressed to, and won, the final, conceding only one goal along the way and again eliminating France.^[72]

Club

As of match played 17 May 2026

International

As of match played 19 July 2026^[93]

As of match played 19 July 2026

Scores and results list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Laporte goal.^[93]

More information No., Date ...

List of international goals scored by Aymeric Laporte

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	23 June 2021	La Cartuja, Seville, Spain	4	Slovakia	2–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2020	[94]
2	15 October 2024	Estadio Nuevo Arcángel, Córdoba, Spain	39	Serbia	1–0	3–0	2024–25 UEFA Nations League A

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