Athletic Bilbao’s proposed signing of Al‑Nassr and Spain defender Aymeric Laporte collapsed because the Saudi club delayed submitting documents, AS reports.
The Basque club had agreed and completed the transfer, but Al‑Nassr did not submit the deal to FIFA’s Transfer Matching System (TMS) in time.
As a result, FIFA rejected Athletic’s registration request. Athletic’s only remaining option to complete the move before the winter window is to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Laporte left Athletic in January 2018 to join Manchester City for €65 million. In August 2023 he signed with Al‑Nassr, where Cristiano Ronaldo also plays.
The Spain international has made 69 appearances for the Saudi side, scoring nine goals and providing one assist.
Earlier Al‑Nassr signed French forward Kingsley Coman from Bayern Munich.
