Henderson's Saudi exit prompts Laporte to admit many stars "dissatisfied"

20 January 2024 , 11:34

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Henderson's Saudi exit prompts Laporte to admit many stars "dissatisfied"

Former Manchester City star Aymeric Laporte claims “many players” are “dissatisfied” with life in Saudi Arabia after Jordan Henderson ’s embarrassing u-turn.

The ex- Liverpool captain signed for El-Ettifaq in the summer in a big-money deal. However, he stayed in the Gulf state for just half a season before having his deal terminated to facilitate a move to Dutch giants Ajax.

Henderson might not be the only one looking for a route out of Saudi Arabia. Karim Benzema ’s long-term future with Al-Ittihad has been called into question amid links with Manchester United and Arsenal.

His teammate and former Celtic star Jota has endured a nightmare stint, while Roberto Firmino has also been linked with a move away from Al-Ahli. Laporte, now of Al-Nassr, has given an insight into life in the country and has claimed that a host of stars are not totally happy.

Quoted by Spanish outlet AS, he said: “It’s a big change compared to Europe, but in the end it’s all adaptation. They haven’t made it easy for us. In fact, there are many players who are dissatisfied, but hey.

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“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.”

Laporte responded to the quotes on social media by tweeting a red X, although the meaning behind it is unclear.

Since moving to Al-Nassr from City, Laporte has made 21 appearances for the club and scored twice. He has so far been on the losing side just once.

Aymeric Laporte celebrates scoring for Al-Nassr (Getty Images)

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Henderson’s time with Al-Ettifaq was far less successful. The 33-year-old made 19 appearances for the side, winning on just six occasions.

Speaking after moving to Ajax, he hinted that it was an error in moving to Saudi Arabia. He said: "In life, if you want to call them regrets or mistakes you can call them that. At the same time they are only mistakes if you don't learn from them. I learned a lot of things in Saudi. There were a lot of different experiences.

"I haven't got a bad word to say about anybody over there in the the league, in the club, the people. They tried to make me feel as comfortable possible, and my family.

"I have friends over there that I'll speak to forever. So there's still positives to come out of it. In the end it didn't turn out the way we both wanted it to but we ended on great terms. We shake hands and move forward."

Daniel Orme