Laporte trapped in golden cage worth 25,000,000

Athletic Bilbao's most significant signing in the recently ended transfer window should have been Aymeric Laporte, but everything backfired at the last minute. The papers were late, and FIFA approached Al Nassr to see where the problem arose, but it remained consistent with the rule.

The Basque club will appeal to the CAS, plans to include the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the story, and thus tries to obtain Laporte's signature. However, as things stand, it seems like the former Manchester City defender will stay trapped in that Saudi "golden cage".

Too much competition in City pushed Laporte towards Ronaldo

Marca reports on the case and describes the situation vividly with the exact headline: "Laporte trapped in a golden cage". He has a valid contract with Al Nassr until the end of June 2026, and according to it, he earns 25,000,000 euros net. It is unlikely that he will complete it, but it is also unlikely that he will leave Riyadh until Wednesday. Then the transfer window closes, there are not many options, he has already refused to go to Turkey and Greece, since he only wants to return to San Mames.

Five milion euros for Yamal? Too much

On the other hand, Al Nassr does not need him at all, as they didn't even register him for the ongoing season. His last hope is that the CAS reverses the decision and allows him to go to Athletic Bilbao, even though the documentation is late. If no such decision is reached, Laporte will have to return to the Saudi capital and wait for another few months before returning to Bilbao.