What life is REALLY like for footballers in Saudi Arabia: Former Man City star Aymeric Laporte bluntly claims ‘many stars are dissatisfied’ with issues with care, traffic and treatment of WAGs
- Aymeric Laporte joined Al-Nassr from Man City in August for a fee of £23.5 million
- But the defender admitted he is one of the few stars unhappy in Saudi Arabia
- Football is changing… managers cannot rely on their reputations. Just look at the Golden Generation – It all starts
Aymeric Laporte has lifted the lid on life as a footballer in Saudi Arabia after joining Al-Nassr from Manchester City.
After six trophy-laden seasons at the Etihad, Laporte joined the ranks of European football’s big stars and made the move to the Gulf state last summer when he joined Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.
The Spain international became the most expensive defender in the history of the Saudi Pro League upon his arrival in Riyadh, but has since revealed that life at his new club leaves much to be desired.
“It’s a big change compared to Europe, but in the end it’s all adaptation,” Laporte told the Spanish publication IF.
‘They didn’t make it easy for us. In fact, there are many players who are dissatisfied, but hey; We work on it every day, negotiate, so to speak, and see if it improves a little, because this is something new for them too, with European players who have already had a long career.
Al-Nassr defender Aymeric Laporte has expressed his dissatisfaction with life in Saudi Arabia
The Spain international added that several high-profile stars are unhappy in the Gulf state
“Maybe they’re not used to this and need to adjust to a little more seriousness.”
The 29-year-old added that despite the extravagant wages on offer in Saudi Arabia – he reportedly earns £21 million a year – European clubs tend to take better care of their players.
Less than six months into his three-year contract, Jordan Henderson left Al-Ettifaq earlier this week to join Ajax after struggling to establish himself following his controversial move from Liverpool.
Asked whether he is plotting a departure due to the ongoing problems, the former Athletic Bilbao star refused to rule anything out.
‘No, let’s see. I haven’t thought about it at the moment, but when I’m disappointed in such a short time it makes you wonder what to do.” He continued.
“That moment has not yet arrived, but it could happen in the future if this momentum continues.”
“To be honest, many of us didn’t just come here for the football either. Many of us are happy with that, but I’m also looking for something that goes beyond the economics part and the like.
The 29-year-old joined Al-Nassr from Manchester City in August on a £23.5million contract.
‘In terms of quality of life, I expected something different, because here you end up spending three hours a day in the car. Riyadh is a waste of traffic, of wasting time in the car.”
Laporte is not the first high-profile arrival in Saudi Arabia to express dissatisfaction with life outside football in the country.
An England player, who did not want to be named, told Mail Sport that his partner had been verbally abused by local women for wearing shorts in a shopping center while visiting the country and had ultimately chosen not to travel with him to move.