Aymeric Laporte, the ideal partner for Pau Cubarsí in the heart of the World Cup-winning Spain defence, offered his services to Barcelona during the final stage of the tournament.
The Athletic Bilbao defender is held in high regard, thanks to his quality and the strong performances he delivered with La Roja at the World Cup, extending a long career. Yet he does not feature in the plans of Barcelona's sporting management for the 2026-2027 season, according to the Catalan newspaper "Mundo Deportivo".
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Coach Hansi Flick feels no pressing need to reinforce the defence. He has enough options already, should no players leave.
The German also trusts Gerard Martín fully as an option at left-back. His squad boasts Eric García, Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araújo, should he stay, alongside Jules Koundé and the young defender Álvaro Cortés.
Barça fear the crises
There's another catch. The information reaching Barcelona suggests Laporte's contract carries no release clause, so signing him would mean opening direct negotiations with Athletic Bilbao, who have the player tied down until 2028.
Barcelona want no part of further headaches after the crises of the Nico Williams saga across the summers of 2024 and 2025. That history is one more obstacle to any move for Laporte.
The French-Basque defender featured on Barcelona's agenda during Luis Enrique's spell in charge, but Athletic refused to negotiate with the Catalan club and simply pointed to the release clause in his contract, which stood at 65 million euros. Manchester City ended up paying that figure to sign him in January 2018.
During his years in England, Laporte tried more than once to edge closer to Barcelona. The financial restrictions crippling the Blaugrana blocked any deal, and he eventually landed at Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia during the 2023-2024 season.
In September 2025, the defender returned to Athletic to resume his career at San Mamés.