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23rd January 2024
03:36pm GMT
Aymeric Laporte has admitted that many players are struggling with their moves to Saudi Arabia.
Laporte was one of the many high-profile names to make the move to the Saudi Pro League in the summer, leaving Treble winners Manchester City to join Al Nassr and play along with the likes of Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, when speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the defender admitted that it's been a struggle to cope with life in the Middle East and that many players are feeling the same way as him.
"It is a big change compared to Europe, but in the end it is all about adaptation," he said.
"They have not made it easy for us. In fact, there are many players that are discontented. We are working on it every day, negotiating so to speak, and to see 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."
While Laporte appreciated that he had plenty of financial benefits, and that he has no intention of leaving, the way of life was not as he hoped as he spends "three hours" of his day in a car.
"Many of us have also come here not only for football," added the Frenchman.
"Many of us are happy with that, but I am also looking for something beyond that is not the economic part and such. 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 a waste of traffic, of time wasted in the car."
He also claimed that the league struggled with it's professionalism, saying: "The ultimatum you can give them doesn’t matter to them. I mean, they’re really going about their business. You negotiate something and then they don’t accept it after you have signed it. They fight you."
In the latest episode of Football Trending, Laporte's comments were discussed where they admitted that the quality of life away from football was not a point that many players would've taken into consideration.
Hunter Godson said: "It's a fair point. Lots of people talk about Los Angeles in the same terms, it is defining in the way that you live your life if you're in your car all day."
Question marks were also raised about the general interest of the Saudi Pro League altogether, with all of the table admitting they've watched little to no action of the competition since the influx of big-name players.
"I've seen a couple of games and the speed of the games is the main thing," Hunter added.
"It's like non-league here. The ball moves slow, the midfielders aren't intense. Partly because it's hot but also you've got some fairly mid-level players - probably below mid - with some absolute world beaters.
"The two together, it just doesn't make for a brilliant showcase."
You can watch the full episode of Football Trending here
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