Aymeric Laporte has revealed that Chelsea and Barcelona were both keen on signing him before he joined Manchester City in 2018.
The defender, now a World Cup and European Championship winner with Spain, said that City had to see off serious competition to land him from Athletic Bilbao.
Laporte explained that a serious ankle injury, sustained while on international duty with the French U21s at the end of a season, complicated the first attempt to sign him.
"Mentally, I wasn’t ready to go to England at that time; it seemed too far from my family."
That injury also caused one of the interested clubs to pull out of the running, though the others, including City, persisted.
Instead of moving, Laporte signed a new contract at Athletic, intending to stay. But roughly 18 months later, City came back. Athletic were having a mediocre season, and the timing finally worked.
The second approach cost City £57 million in January 2018. By then, Pep Guardiola had already been tracking Laporte since his Bayern Munich days. Guardiola phoned the defender to tell him he was joining City, that he was a key player, and that he wanted him to partner John Stones.
Laporte went on to make 180 appearances for City, scoring 12 goals — including a Carabao Cup final-winning header against Tottenham. He won 13 trophies, among them five Premier League titles and a place in the treble-winning side of 2023.
He left for Al-Nassr in August 2023 and returned to Bilbao in 2025.
Reflecting on his time at the Etihad, Laporte offered a frank assessment of Guardiola. "Tactically, he’s one of the best in football," he said. "In terms of interpersonal relationships, perhaps the worst."
He also suggested that City have changed since his departure. "Since I left, City isn’t what it used to be, and winning has become the norm."