Aymeric Laporte: Manchester City complete club-record signing
Laporte has joined Premier League leaders Man City in a 65m-euro deal from Athletic Bilbao, signing a five-and-a-half-year contract.
Aymeric Laporte has joined Manchester City from Athletic Bilbao in a deal that sees the Premier League leaders pay a club-record fee for the defender.
Laporte signs on at Manchester City until 2023
The Frenchman has signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with City, who met his 65-million-euro release clause on Monday.
"I am very happy to be here," the 23-year-old, who will wear the number 14 shirt at the Etihad Stadium, told the Citizens' official website. "City are a club with a lot of ambition and they are one of the best teams in Europe.
"I am looking forward to working under Pep Guardiola and trying to help the club to achieve success. It means a lot that the club have shown faith in me and I am excited to get started."
Laporte "will fit in perfectly with Pep's playing style"
"We are delighted to have signed Aymeric," said City's director of football, Txiki Begiristain. "We have assessed defensive options and he is a player we have admired for a long time.
"With his quality and ability to play out from the back, we feel Aymeric will fit in perfectly with Pep Guardiola’s playing style."
Only Van Dijk has commanded higher fee for defender
The France Under-21 cap becomes the second-most expensive defender in history behind Virgil van Dijk, who joined Liverpool for 85m euros this month.
In a statement, Athletic revealed on Monday that club president Josu Urrutia will hold a press conference in the coming days to outline the details of Laporte's departure.
After making his first-team debut in November 2012, the player went on to make 222 appearances for Athletic, scoring 10 times for Los Leones.
Laporte: "I leave a unique club"
In a farewell message to the club and its fans on social media, Laporte wrote: "I want to thank you all for everything you have given me. I arrived as a teenager and here I have grown up as a person and as a football player.
"I don't want this to be a goodbye, but a see you soon. I leave a unique club [...] that I won't forget."
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