Laporte leaves the door open for Manchester City exit

The former Athletic Bilbao man lost his place in Pep Guardiola’s starting XI and is not too thrilled with his new backup role.

Aymeric Laporte leaves the door open for a possible departure from Manchester City amid a “very different challenge” of lack of game time.

Laporte endured a couple of injuries in 2020/21 but fitness issues hardly explain why he started in only 24 games over the course of the season.

Much of the center-back’s minutes were eaten up by John Stones, who enjoyed a resurgent season and established himself as a key figure in the City backline alongside Ruben Dias.

Laporte told The Independent back in February that he was happy at the club and thinks of staying at the Etihad for “many years” – but now his stance has changed.

“When you asked me that in this period I was playing more I think or maybe less but I don’t know, the situation is very different now. I will not say nothing here, it’s something personal,” the Frenchman explained in his most recent interview.

“It’s a very different challenge because I never played less than this year. For me it’s very different, that is difficult to accept.

“I try to train every day like normal. I try to keep my rhythm and when I have to play I try to do it as best as possible. Personally, I’m happy with what I’ve done this season.

“When I’ve played, I’ve played really good. Of course you can always improve but I am happy with all that, and I hope I can do a very good Euros, then we’ll see what can happen.”