'There are many dissatisfied players' - Aymeric Laporte launches scathing criticism of Saudi Pro League
- Laporte left Man City to join Al Nassr in summer
- Centre-backs admits he has not been impressed by life in Middle East
- Jordan Henderson terminated Al Ettifaq contract; Karim Benzema among those linked with exits
By Tom Gott
Al Nassr centre-back Aymeric Laporte has confessed there are several players unhappy with life in Saudi Arabia as he refused to rule out a quick return to Europe.
A number of players made the big-money jumps to the Middle East in 2023, including Laporte's £23.6m switch from Manchester City, but January has seen plenty of speculation about the futures of those new signings.
Jordan Henderson has already terminated his Al Ettifaq contract to join Ajax, while Roberto Firmino is open to a European return and Karim Benzema has also been heavily linked with an exit from Al Ittihad.
Speaking to AS, Laporte admitted he knows of several unhappy stars in Saudi Arabia and warned league officials they must change things quickly before players start to consider leaving.
"It's a big change compared to Europe, but in the end, it's all adaptation," he began. "They haven't made it easy for us.
"In fact, there are many players who are dissatisfied, but hey, we are working on it every day, negotiating, and seeing if it improves a little because this is something new for [Saudi Arabia] too, having European players who have already had long careers. Maybe they are not used to this and have to adapt to a little more seriousness."
Asked where he sees this lack of seriousness, Laporte continued: "In every sense, but also in daily life. Life for them, they take everything lightly. The ultimatum you can give them doesn't matter to them. I mean, they're going about their business.
"You negotiate something and then they don't accept it after you have signed. They fight you. It's a bit of a bummer. In Europe, of course they can take things away from you but they give you things in other aspects.
"I speak from my own experience and I don't know what others' experiences have been like. For my part, what I have seen is that they try to bring you in, but then there is day-to-day life and that is different.
"[Al Nassr] take care of us, but not enough for my taste. In Europe, they pay you a good salary too, but they also take better care of you."
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Laporte acknowledged the common argument that the wages on offer in the Middle East can soften the blow but argued the quality of his life has dropped drastically since leaving City.
"To be honest, many of us have come here for reasons other than football," Laporte admitted. "Many of us are happy with that side of things, but I am also looking for something beyond the economic side.
"In terms of quality of life, I expected something different, because in the end, you spend three hours a day in the car here. Riyadh is full of traffic and wasted time in the car."
Laporte went on to insist that he is not currently thinking of a quick exit from Saudi Arabia but confessed he may be forced into a decision in the future if nothing changes.
"Let's see," he said. "At the moment, I haven't thought about it, but if I'm feeling disappointed after such a short time, you wonder what you need to do. That moment has not yet arrived, but in the future it could if this dynamic continues."
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