Arriving on August 24 at Al-Nassr, Aymeric Laporte discovered behind the scenes of the sumptuous Saudi Pro League. The Saudi Arabian championship has managed to attract many world-class players, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mané. After the euphoria of the first moments, the breath seems to have subsided, as the Frenchman openly admits, who has 26 caps for the Spanish national team, the homeland he chose for football.
“I’m not considering leaving, but I’m already disappointed in such a short time, we wonder what to do. This moment has not yet arrived, but it could become so in the future if this dynamic continues. » Aymeric Laporte did not expect to discover a championship which suffers from its amateurism. “We work on it every day, negotiate so to speak and see if it improves a little bit because it’s something new for them too, having European players who already have a long career. Maybe they’re not used to it and need to adjust to a little more seriousness. »
“They take everything lightly”
He continues: “This lack of preparation is in every sense of the word, but also in everyday life. They take everything lightly. They don’t care what ultimatum you can give them. They really go about their business […] They take care of us, but not enough for my liking. In other words, in Europe, they pay you a good salary, but they take better care of you. » And he doesn’t really see how things can get better: “You negotiate something and they don’t accept it after you sign it. They are fighting you…”
Outside of football, daily life is not necessarily easier than in Europe: “In terms of quality of life, I expected something different because in the end here we spend three hours a day in the car , in traffic jams in Riyadh. »
Laporte also believes that he is part of a larger number of players who arrived this summer from Europe and are already struggling. “It’s a big change from Europe, but in the end it’s quite an adaptation. They didn’t make it easy for us. In fact, there are many players who are dissatisfied. »
Among them Karim Benzema, the highest paid player in the Saudi Pro League, and already widely criticized by the Saudi media for his involvement, while “KB9” returned 17 days late from his vacation in Mauritius. His Al-Ittihad club is “furious at what happened, having not been able to contact him for 10 days,” an internal source at the club explained to AFP.
