Aymeric Laporte has candidly lifted the lid on the amount of dissatisfaction in the Saudi Pro League.
The treble-winning Manchester City defender was one of the biggest coups of the SPL’s staggering spending last year, leaving the Premier League at 29 as an international calibre player.
Laporte rocked up at Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, one of the league’s teams with a more extensive history and fanbase.
However, all is not well, as he told AS in a lengthy interview.
“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.
“There are many dissatisfied players, but hey; we are working on it every day, negotiating so to speak, and seeing if it improves a little because this is something new for them too, having European players who already have a long career. Maybe they are not used to this and have to adapt to a little more seriousness.
“In every sense [it’s difficult], but also in everyday 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 it.
“Yes, they take care of us, but not enough for my taste. That is to say, in Europe, they pay you a good salary, but they take better care of you.”
Asked if he is thinking about leaving after six months, much like Jordan Henderson, Laporte opened the door to a summer departure.
“Let’s see, at the moment, I haven’t thought about it,” he said. “But if I’m disappointed in such a short time, you wonder what to do.
“That moment has not yet arrived, but in the future, it could be if this dynamic continues.
“To be honest, many of us have also come here not only for football. Many of us are happy with that, but I am also looking for something beyond that not just the economic part.
“In terms of quality of life, I expected something different because in the end here you spend three hours a day in the car. Riyadh is just wasting time in traffic, wasted time in the car.
“It has very good points and many other bad ones. The shopping centres are truly spectacular. They take good care of the details, they have many things for the kids, and everything is clean.
“But I already told you. If you have to go somewhere and you have to spend an hour and a half in the car, you don’t even want to go there. Traffic is a negative point.”
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