Laporte misses out on transfer back to Athletic Club | OneFootball

Aymeric Laporte's hopes of returning to Athletic Club have been dashed for now with the confirmation that his transfer was not processed on time.

After moving from France to Basque Country as a teen, Laporte came through the academy at Athletic Club and went on to play 222 games for the club, scoring 10 times.

Laporte's performances in Bilbao earned him a move to Manchester City with the defender then switching to Al-Nassr at the start of the 2023/24 season.

An agreement had been reached between the Saudi Pro club and Athletic for a deal which ultimately was not processed in time.

In a statement, the La Liga club broke down what exactly happened:

"1.- On 1 September, during the player registration period permitted by the regulations, Aymeric Laporte Fevre, the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr Football Club and Athletic Club agreed for the player to be transferred to Athletic Club, subject to certain conditions being met.

2.- Athletic Club uploaded the transfer application to FIFA's Time Matching System (TMS) platform on 1 September, although it could not be completed in full on that date due to circumstances and external factors beyond the club's control.

3.- On 2 September, the RFEF [Spanish football federation] requested that FIFA grant an exception to the validation process in order to obtain the International Transfer Certificate from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation so Athletic Club could register the player.

4.- On 3 September, the RFEF informed Athletic Club by email that FIFA had rejected the application and the chance to obtain the International Transfer Certificate."

The club went on to confirm that the potential transfer is 'null and avoid' meaning that a new agreement will have to be made if the player is to eventually make a return in the winter window.