Marca: Laporte registration documents have been sent to La Liga, just waiting for the announcement by Athletic Bilbao

According to Le Marca, Spanish central defender Laporte will return to Athletic Bilbao after 8 years. The two sides have reached an agreement and the club is only waiting for official announcement. The 31-year-old defender will sign a three-year contract with San Mames, and the registration documents have also been delivered to La Liga.

Athletic Bilbao suffered a heavy blow in the central defender position this summer. Unai Nunes left the team, Yera Alvarez was suspended and Egirus was injured, which forced the team to urgently seek reinforcement. Eventually, they completed the signing with Laporte before the transfer window closed. The international team has played for two seasons in Riyadh after leaving Manchester City and is now back as free agent.

Laporte's original contract with Riyadh will be as high as 25 million euros by 2026. Saudi club paid Manchester City 27.5 million euros to introduce him. The transfer was difficult to negotiate with many parties and was not completed until the last moment, and even considered the time difference with Riyadh. Laporte has not been in the official competition since April 30 and needs more time to get back into shape.

Laporte made his debut in Bilbao in the UEFA Europa League on November 28, 2012, and scored his first goal in Athletic Bilbao's career on October 28, 2013. He played 222 games during his first time in Bilbao until he joined Manchester City on January 29, 2018, when Manchester City paid a 65 million euro termination fee.