Athletic Bilbao was blocked from signing defender Aymeric Laporte by world football governing body FIFA, the Spanish club said on Wednesday.
The Basque side said it tried to sign him on September 1 from Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, but it could not be completed for “external factors beyond (Athletic’s) control”, with Spanish media saying the paperwork was submitted late.
The Spanish federation asked FIFA to grant an exception for Laporte’s move but Athletic said it was informed on Wednesday FIFA had denied the request.
Athletic said it was “studying all possibilities within the existing legal framework” to still try and bring in Laporte, but if it could not then the agreements with the player and Al-Nassr will be void.
Spain centre-back Laporte, 31, left Athletic for Manchester City in 2018 before joining Al-Nassr in 2023.
Published on Sep 04, 2025