Aymeric Laporte travelled to Al Nassr on Monday ahead of a £23.5million move to the Saudi Premier League side.
Laporte has been seeking a new challenge this summer after being relegated to a minor role in Manchester City’s Treble win last season, although there has been a surprising lack of interest in the Spanish defender.
Pep Guardiola has added Josko Gvardiol to his defensive ranks in this transfer window, with the club paying £78m to sign the 21-year-old.
With no starts in the first four matches of the season, Laporte has opted to accept the offer from Al Nassr – who also boast Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane in their squad – after a bid was accepted for him. He is not expected to be replaced at the Etihad given Gvardiol has already come in.
Laporte becomes the second City player to leave in this window for the Saudi League, which is throwing significant money at European clubs in an attempt to establish itself in the game. Riyad Mahrez joined Al Ahli for £30m to bring an end to his five-year stint with the Blues.
Laporte’s fee will take City over £100m for sales this summer. On top of Mahrez, the club have also raised over £50m from the sale of homegrown talent including James Trafford, Shea Charles and Romeo Lavia.
Gvardiol has been the marquee signing at the Etihad this summer, while Mateo Kovacic has also come in for an initial £25m to take their spending to £103m. The club are still looking to bring in fresh reinforcements, although interest in West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta ended last week.
