Aymeric Laporte ‘s immense potential was evident when he officially joined Bilbao aged 16 in 2010. His arrival at the club sparked debate about his eligibility but over the years it proved to be a great decision for the club club was. After his debut in 2012, he established himself as a key component of the team. His composure, technical ability and reading the game made him one of the most sought after prospects in the world to host Bilbao . He attracted interest from some of the biggest clubs including Manchester United and Barcelona . He eventually joined Manchester Cityas Pep Guardiola pushed for his transfer to shore up his backline. By the start of the 2018/19 season, he had become Guardiola ‘s first-choice central defender.

Born name

Aymeric Jean Louis Gerard Alphonse Laporte

nickname

Aymeric

Sun sign

Twins

Place of birth

Agen, Aquitaine, France

nationality

training

Aymeric Laporte started his football journey with SU Agen Football youth setup . He then joined Basque club, Athletic Bilbao and trained with their youth team for a couple of seasons before being promoted to the senior team.

occupation

Professional soccer player

family

• Father – His father played rugby and football.
• Mother – His mother played soccer.
• Siblings – He has an older sister who also played football.

Manager

Aymeric Laporte is represented by Carles Puyol and Ivan de la Pena’s management agency.

Position

central defender

Shirt Number

4, 14, 38 – Athletic Bilbao

14 – Manchester City

5 – France national team

To build

Athletic

Height

6 feet 3 inches or 190.5 cm

weight

82 kg or 180.5 lbs

girlfriend/spouse

Aymeric Laporte dated –

1. Sara Botello – Laporte is in a relationship with Sara Botello, a professional dancer. He has been with Sara Athletic Bilbao since his early years . It was reported that it was Sara’s family who helped him settle down after he joined Bilbao .

race/ethnicity

White

He has Basque ancestry.

hair colour

dark brown

eye color

hazel

sexual orientation

Just

distinguishing features

prominent nose

brand promotion

Aymeric Laporte has signed a personal sponsorship deal with Adidas and according to the terms of the deal, he is required to wear Adidas cleats for his professional matches. He also uses his social media posts to promote Adidas products.

Known for

As one of the best young central defenders in Europe’s top flights. During his stay at Athletic Bilbao he was able to show his immense talent in over 220 games. During his stay in Spain he was considered one of the most technically gifted centre-backs.

First football game

In November 2012, Aymeric Laporte made his professional debut with Athletic Bilbao in a UEFA Europa League match against Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona . He played the whole game as his team won 2-0.

In January 2018 he made his Premier League debut for Manchester City in a home game against West Bromwich Albion . They won the match 3-0.

Strengthen

• pass
• air skills
• tackle
• Technical ability

weaknesses

• concentration
• Strength
• Often loses focus in a match

First web show

In 2018, Aymeric Laporte made his first web show appearance on Amazon web show, All or Nothing: Manchester City .

Aymeric Laporte favorite things

• Idol – Sylvain Wiltord

Aymeric Laporte facts

1. He started playing both football and rugby at the tender age of 5.
2. When he made his debut for Athletic Bilbao in November 2012, he became the 2nd Frenchman to represent the Basque club, after Bixente Lizarazu.
3. After impressing his scouts, he was invited to join Athletic Bilbao in 2009. The invitation sparked a debate at the Basque club, which is known for only signing players from the Basque Country. Many felt that despite his Basque ancestry, he was not born in the area and therefore did not meet the selection criteria.
4. Being too young to move out of France in 2009, Bilbao reached an agreement through which he joined Aviron Bayonnais FC for a season. He officially joined Bilbao in 2010.
5. In January 2013, he signed a contract extension with Bilbao to extend his stay at the club until 2016. His release clause has been increased to €27.5 million.
6. He scored his first professional goal in October 2013 when he scored the only goal of the game between Bilbao and Getafe CF.
7. In the 2013/14 season he had his breakthrough as coach Ernesto Valverde made him a permanent part of the senior team. This season he played 35 games for the club and also scored 2 goals.
8. He was named La Liga Team of the Year at the end of the 2013–14 season. The team is selected by reporters from the Liga de Fútbol Profesional.
9. He signed another contract extension with Bilbao in June 2016, who extended his stay at the club until 2020. With the new contract, his release clause was set at €65 million.
10. In August 2015 he won the Supercopa de España with Bilbao when they managed to defeat Barcelona by 5-1 on aggregate. It was the first cutlery of his professional career and Bilbao ‘s first trophy in 31 years.
11. In January 2018 Manchester City paid Bilbao £ 57m to secure Laporte’s services. It was the highest amount paid by the English club and the highest transfer fee a Basque club has received for a player.
12. He scored his first goal for Manchester City in August 2018 in a Premier League game against Wolverhampton Wanderers . His goal helped his team in the away game.
13. He captained the France U19 side at the 2013 UEFA European Championship, where they managed to finish runners-up. He was included in the Team of the Tournament .
14. In March 2016, he suffered a horrific injury during the 2017 European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Scotland, breaking his right fibula and dislocating his ankle.
15. After getting frustrated with waiting, he was selected in the France national team and in August 2016 started the procedure to qualify for the Spanish national team. Spain head coach Julen Lopetegui encouraged him to do so.
16. However, after being called up for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Bulgaria and Netherlands by French head coach Didier Deschamps, he decided not to bank on the Spanish nationality and to focus entirely on playing for the France national team.
17. Follow Aymeric Laporte on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.