Aymeric Laporte lashes out at critics who claim he shouldn’t play at Euro 2024 because he moved to Saudi Arabia… and claims ‘misinformation’ has been spread

Spain defender Aymeric Laporte has lashed out at critics of his selection for the European Championship because he plays his club football in Saudi Arabia.

Laporte, who left Manchester City at the start of last season to join Saudi Premier League big-spenders Al-Nassr, arrived in Germany with a minor muscle injury.

That forced him to miss Spain’s opening 3-0 win over Croatia and angered those fans who thought he should not have been picked in the first place.

But head coach Luis de la Fuente showed faith in the 30-year-old and had his loyalty repaid when Laporte produced an outstanding performance in the 1-0 win over Italy, which booked Spain’s passage through to the last 16.

‘I played 90 minutes against Italy and I feel good,’ he snapped yesterday, as Spain prepare for tomorrow’s final group game against Albania in Dusseldorf. ‘A lot has been said about my condition and it really gets under my skin. But misinformation is common and there’s been more news than there should have been.’

The defender, who became a naturalised Spaniard in 2021, has said he is ‘proud to be representing Spain’

The centre back, who was born in Agen, France, has had an uneasy relationship with Spain fans after he represented France at youth level before becoming a naturalised Spaniard in 2021. And many of those critics would have thought that going to Saudi signalled the end of his international road, but Laporte said: ‘I spoke with the coach before taking the decision to go to Saudi. I’m proud of representing Spain.’

Turning to the Saudi Premier League, Laporte aded: ‘It’s a young league and in terms of marketing it’s evolving. Maybe in the future it will be seen as a competitive league.’