Athletic Bilbao's Aymeric Laporte confirms he rejected move to Manchester City

Luiz Suarez and Aymeric Laporte in action during the Copa del Rey game between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao on January 27, 2016
© AFP
Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte confirmed that he rejected a move to Manchester City in the summer.

Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte has confirmed that he rejected a summer transfer to Manchester City.

The 22-year-old has revealed that he held talks with City manager Pep Guardiola "for a long time", but he could not be convinced to move to the Premier League.

Instead, the centre-back signed a new contract at Athletic, which runs until June 2020.

"How did I say no to Pep? By looking at the pros and cons," Laporte told RTL. "I spoke with him for a long time, as well as with my club. I also looked at my family, my entourage.

"It wasn't too early. It was just pros and cons - amount of time on the pitch, me recovering from injury. These aren't easy things to think about at my age. In the end, I had to make a choice. I did, and I'm happy."

Laporte broke into the Athletic senior team in 2012.

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1Manchester CityMan City86111981119
2Arsenal86111991019
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs8530134918
4Liverpool85211810817
5Chelsea8512159616
6Everton8431126615
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd8422138514
8Southampton8332107312
9Crystal Palace8323119211
10Watford83231313011
11Bournemouth83231212011
12West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom824298110
13Leicester CityLeicester8224814-68
14Burnley8215612-67
15West Ham UnitedWest Ham8215917-87
16Hull City8215820-127
17Middlesbrough8134711-46
18Stoke CityStoke8134716-96
19Swansea CitySwansea8116815-74
20Sunderland8026615-92