Aymeric Laporte

Aymeric Jean Louis Gérard Alphonse Laporte (French pronunciation: ​[ɛməʁik lapɔʁt]; born 27 May 1994) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Manchester City.

Aymeric Laporte
Laporte playing for Athletic Bilbao in 2014
Personal information
Full name Aymeric Jean Louis Gérard Alphonse Laporte[1]
Date of birth (1994-05-27) 27 May 1994[2]
Place of birth Agen, France
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Manchester City
Number 14
Youth career
2000–2009 SU Agen
2009–2010 Bayonne
2010–2011 Athletic Bilbao
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2012 Basconia 33 (2)
2012 Bilbao Athletic 8 (0)
2012–2018 Athletic Bilbao 161 (7)
2018– Manchester City 64 (4)
National team
2011 France U17 11 (1)
2011–2012 France U18 9 (0)
2012–2013 France U19 12 (1)
2013–2016 France U21 19 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 05:13, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

After joining Athletic Bilbao in 2010 at the age of 16, he became only the second French player—after Bixente Lizarazu—to play for them,[4] going on to make 220 competitive appearances for the club and score ten goals. In January 2018, he signed for Manchester City.[5] He was part of the side which won the first domestic treble in English men’s football in 2019.

Laporte won 51 caps for France at youth level.

Club career

Athletic Bilbao

Laporte was born in Agen, Aquitaine and is of Basque descent through his great-grandparents.[6] He started playing football and rugby at the age of five, and began his development at SU Agen Football.[7][8][9] In 2009 he was invited to join Athletic Bilbao after being scouted;[8][9] by arrangement with the club, he spent a season with Aviron Bayonnais FC[9][10] as he was too young to move outside France 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.[6][8][10] He went on to play for the club's farm and reserve teams.[11] On 28 November 2012 he was given his debut with the main squad by manager Marcelo Bielsa,[12] playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 away win against Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona F.C. in that season's UEFA Europa League.[13]

Laporte made his first La Liga appearance on 9 December 2012, appearing one minute in a 1–0 home win over Celta de Vigo.[14] He was inserted in the starting XI the following week, helping the Lions to the same result at RCD Mallorca,[15] and was definitely promoted to the first team shortly after, signing a new contract until 2015;[16] on 14 January 2013, he was given the number 4 jersey previously worn by Ustaritz,[17] and late in the month he renewed his contract, running until 2016 and with a €27.5 million release clause.[18]

Laporte became an undisputed starter under new coach Ernesto Valverde, also being deployed as left back on occasion.[19][20][21] He scored his first goal as a professional on 28 October 2013, netting the game's only at Getafe CF.[22] At the end of the campaign, he was voted into the La Liga Team of the Year by the reporters of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional.[23][24]

In June 2015, Laporte extended his link until 2019 with a release clause of €50 million.[25] After losing the final of the Copa del Rey to FC Barcelona,[26] he played both legs of the year's Supercopa de España triumph against the same opposition, Athletic's first silverware for 31 years.[27][28]

On 13 June 2016, Laporte renewed his contract until 2020, with his buyout clause rising to an initial €65 million.[29]

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 (his contractual release clause amount and a record-breaking figure for both clubs). He was given the number 14 shirt,[30] while Athletic immediately spent around half of the fee on Iñigo Martínez as a replacement.[31] He made his Premier League debut the following day, playing the entire 3–0 home win against West Bromwich Albion.[32]

Laporte scored his first goal for City on 25 August 2018, equalising against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 1–1 away draw.[33] 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).[34]

On 31 August 2019, Laporte sustained an injury to his right knee, causing him to be carried off on a stretcher.[35] He underwent surgery in September 2019.[36]

International career

Laporte represented France at under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels,[37] captaining each side.[38] He was part of the under-19 team that came runners-up to Serbia in the 2013 UEFA European Championship in Lithuania, and was selected in the Team of the Tournament.[39]

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.[40] Previously, in October 2015, he stated that he would consider representing Spain if rejected by France for UEFA Euro 2016.[38]

In August 2016, at the behest of new national manager Julen Lopetegui, Laporte began the process of making himself eligible for Spain.[41] A month later, he was called up to the senior France squad for 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and the Netherlands in October,[42] and stated he had decided not to apply for Spanish nationality with the continued aim of playing for France.[43] He did not take part in either match.

In August 2019, he was called up for France's Euro 2020 qualifying fixtures against Albania and Andorra;[44] however just two days later he was injured playing for his club and ruled out of any involvement.[35]

Style of play

Spanish football journalist Guillem Balagué described Laporte as a "centre-back who can play from the back and is strong", adding that "he is certainly a powerful defender".[45]

Career statistics
As of match played 26 December 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Basconia 2011–12[46] Tercera División 332————332
Bilbao Athletic 2012–13[47] Segunda División B 80———0080
Athletic Bilbao 2012–13[47] La Liga 15000—2[lower-alpha 3]0—170
2013–14[48] La Liga 35230———382
2014–15[49] La Liga 33070—9[lower-alpha 4]0—490
2015–16[50] La Liga 26352—12[lower-alpha 3]02[lower-alpha 5]0455
2016–17[51] La Liga 33240—6[lower-alpha 3]0—432
2017–18[52] La Liga 19010—10[lower-alpha 3]1—301
Total 1617202—3912022210
Manchester City 2017–18[53] Premier League 9010003[lower-alpha 6]0—130
2018–19[54] Premier League 353401010[lower-alpha 6]21[lower-alpha 7]0515
2019–20[55] Premier League 15120003[lower-alpha 6]000201
2020–21[56] Premier League 5010212[lower-alpha 6]0—101
Total 644803118210947
Career total 26613282315733035719
  1. Includes Copa del Rey, FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  4. Seven appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España
  6. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  7. Appearance in FA Community Shield

Honours

Athletic Bilbao

Manchester City

France U19

Individual

References
  1. "List of Players under Written Contract Registered Between 01/01/2018 and 31/01/2018". The Football Association. p. 5. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  2. "Aymeric Laporte". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  3. "A. Laporte: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  4. "Athletic Bilbao makes easy work of Hapoel IKS". Fox Sports. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  5. "Laporte ya posa como jugador del Manchester City" [Laporte already posing as a Manchester City player]. ABC (in Spanish). Madrid. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  6. Beltrán, Javi (25 July 2013). "Laporte: "Tengo sangre vasca por parte de mis bisabuelos"" [Laporte: "I have Basque blood through my great-grandparents"] (in Spanish). El Desmarque. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  7. Karouri, Khaled (4 November 2012). "Entretien avec... Aymeric Laporte" [Interview with... Aymeric Laporte]. Foot Mercato (in French). Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  8. "Aymeric Laporte, un Basque parmi les Basques" [Aymeric Laporte, a Basque among the Basques]. Only Football (in French). 14 May 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  9. "Biography – Athletic Bilbao signing and beginnings". Official website. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  10. "Aymeric Laporte a "arrêté de regarder les papillons"" [Aymeric Laporte "stopped watching the butterflies"]. So Foot (in French). 26 September 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  11. Rodríguez, Roberto (28 April 2012). "Aymeric Laporte, el cachorro más valioso" [Aymeric Laporte, most valuable pup]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  12. "De Bielsa à Guardiola: Laporte raconte ses mentors" [From Bielsa to Guardiola: Laporte tells his mentors] (in French). SFR. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  13. "Athletic post comfortable Kiryat Shmona win". UEFA. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  14. Melero, Delfín (9 December 2012). "El Athletic tiene suficiente con Aduriz" [Athletic have enough with Aduriz]. Marca (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  15. "Aduriz wins it for Bilbao". ESPN Soccernet. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  16. "Laporte, jugador de la primera plantilla" [Laporte, first-team player] (in Spanish). Athletic Bilbao. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  17. "Dorsal de Aymeric Laporte" [Aymeric Laporte's number] (in Spanish). Athletic Bilbao. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  18. Beato, Rafa (28 January 2013). "Laporte renueva hasta 2016" [Laporte renews until 2016]. Marca (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  19. "Valverde prueba a Laporte de lateral y Saborit de interior" [Valverde tries Laporte as fullback and Saborit as winger] (in Spanish). Liga BBVA. 6 August 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
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  21. García, Alberto (7 December 2013). "Un descanso para Laporte y entran Aduriz, Morán y Etxeita" [Rest for Laporte, in with Aduriz, Morán and Etxeita]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Barcelona. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
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  23. "The Liga BBVA team of the season". La Liga. 19 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  24. Chesters, Heath (19 May 2014). "LFP reporters choose their La Liga 'Ideal Eleven' for 2013–14". Inside Spanish Football. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
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  26. Lowe, Sid (30 May 2015). "Lionel Messi double gives Barcelona Cup final win over Athletic Bilbao". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
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  30. "Aymeric Laporte: Manchester City sign French defender for club-record £57m". BBC Sport. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  31. "Athletic Bilbao sign Inigo Martinez to replace Aymeric Laporte". Goal. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  32. Henson, Mike (31 January 2018). "Manchester City 3–0 West Bromwich Albion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
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  34. McNulty, Phil (18 May 2019). "Manchester City 6–0 Watford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  35. City fear Laporte out 'for a while' with knee injury, ESPN, 31 August 2019
  36. "Aymeric Laporte: Manchester City defender has surgery on right knee". 4 September 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  37. "Laporte, convocado para la sub 21 por Francia" [Laporte, called up to France under-21]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Barcelona. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
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  42. "Équipe de France: Laporte arrive, Fekir revient" [France team: Laporte arrives, Fekir returns]. Le Figaro (in French). Paris. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
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  49. "Laporte: Aymeric Laporte: Matches: 2014–15". BDFutbol. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  50. "Laporte: Aymeric Laporte: Matches: 2015–16". BDFutbol. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
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  56. "Games played by Aymeric Laporte in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
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