Aymeric Laporte Rejoins Athletic Club After FIFA Approves Al Nassr Exit

‎Athletic Bilbao will sign Aymeric Laporte after FIFA changed its stance on Thursday.

‎The Basque club had attempted to bring the Spanish defender from Saudi club Al Nassr on September 1, but the move was not completed before the transfer deadline.

‎FIFA rejected a request from the Spanish football federation (RFEF) last week to make an exception for Laporte’s move, but Athletic says the RFEF’s request has since been granted after they sought to overturn the decision.

‎Spanish media reported that Al-Nassr had not completed the transfer details online in FIFA’s Transfer Matching System. The dispute centers on Laporte’s transfer and the procedural changes claimed by Athletic and reported by the press.

‎”Athletic Club would like to report that FIFA has authorised the RFEF to obtain the International Transfer Certificate (ITC) from the Saudi Arabian football federation,” said Athletic in a statement.

‎”Once the ITC is issued, Aymeric Laporte can be registered with Athletic Club.”

‎Laporte left Athletic for Manchester City in 2018 before joining Al Nassr in 2023.