Aymeric Laporte disputes Pep Guardiola's Man City transfer claim and says 'it wasn't like that'

Former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte has disputed one of Pep Guardiola's claims about transfers at the club.

Laporte joined City from Spanish side Athletic Bilbao in January 2018 after the Manchester club activated his £57.2 million release clause.

The centre-back was City's record signing at the time, and was one of their key players for a number of seasons.

Laporte saw playing time harder to come by after the arrival of Ruben Dias from Benfica in the summer of 2021, and he played just 12 games in his final season last term before joining Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr.

It was claimed that Laporte was unhappy with his situation at City, which was one of the key factors behind his desire to leave the club.

Guardiola, meanwhile, has previously insisted that it is his policy to allow players to leave the club if they want to - but that the club has to make the final decision.

When asked about the future of Kalvin Phillips and his own feelings, he said: "I never change.

"I said a few months ago [my policy], but after that they have to agree with the club. My opinion is my opinion.

"The last word belongs to the club. If he decides to [leave], then do it. If the agreement is not done, then he stays."

But speaking to Radio Marca, Laporte has claimed that despite Guardiola's stance, not every player was able to leave the club when they wanted to.

He explained: "That's what he usually says [about transfers]. For several players, it wasn't like that, but I'm going to go into that type of thing.

"I decided to leave and I was able to leave. That's it. I also made that decision for the moment.

"I think it was the right one, due to the life circumstances and also because of my situation at City. I had not been playing there for a long time, I had achieved almost everything and I had been playing for two years in a place that was the position that I did not want to play."

The Spain international has had a solid start to life in Saudi Arabia with some consistently strong performances, although was sent off during a 1-0 defeat to Al-Ain that ultimately knocked Al Nassr out of the Asian Champions League.

Topics: Aymeric Laporte, Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, Football, Al Nassr, Saudi Pro League

Ryan Smart

Live in constant hope of the top flight as a Preston North End fan. Written in the past for SPORF, GiveMeSport and more.