It wasn’t really what I was looking for

Cristiano Ronaldo’s former teammate Aymeric Laporte has opened up about leaving Al-Nassr. He said that life in Saudi Arabia didn’t align with his professional or personal goals, leading him to return to Spain.

Laporte joined the Cristiano Ronaldo-led side from Manchester City in the summer of 2023. He made 69 appearances for them and also contributed nine goals and one assist. However, he left the club last summer to return to Athletic Club.

In a recent interview with RMC Sport, Laporte opened up about life at Al-Nassr and his decision to leave Saudi Arabia, saying (h/t GOAL):

“I’ve never said this before today, but from the first year in Saudi Arabia I realised it wasn’t really what I was looking for. I spoke to the club about it from the first year, they asked me to be patient. It remained the same, I had some problems there, nothing serious, that we didn’t know how to manage. We decided not to continue for a third year. There was also the family aspect which was important to me.”

About his decision to return to Athletic Club, the Spaniard said:

“There was an approach, yes. There was interest, not only from Marseille but also from other clubs. There was the idea of getting closer to home, to my father, my family. I was determined to return to my roots. That’s what made me come back to Bilbao.”

Laporte has made 16 appearances across competitions for Athletic Club since joining them from the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al-Nassr.

Pundit slams PIF over treatment of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr

Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly went on a strike recently due to complaints about PIF. With Al-Hilal signing Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad, the Al-Nassr forward was reportedly concerned about the competitiveness of the league.

The PIF are set to fine the Portuguese legend for missing two matches in protest. Pundit Prince Alwaleed Bin Badr has slammed this decision, claiming that some other players didn’t receive a similar punishment. He said:

“The Disciplinary Committee punished Ronaldo for a gesture that Malcom repeated and was not punished for, and Benzema also repeated in his first match and was not punished.”

Benzema, notably, went on a strike to force a move from Al-Ittihad to Al-Hilal. Malcolm has also been involved in similar actions in the past.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo is back to training with Al-Nassr. He will, however, not play in their clash against Al-Fateh away on Saturday, February 14.