Five-time Man City champion hints at transfer future amid Barcelona & Tottenham links

Aymeric Laporte’s tearful reaction on Sunday hinted the Manchester City defender’s immediate future may lie away from the Etihad.

The Spanish international was seen sitting on the Etihad turf and was emotional after collecting his fifth Premier League winners’ medal, following the 1-0 win over Chelsea. The champions knew they had already secured a third consecutive title prior to the match, but Julian Alvarez’s first-half strike handed City three more points as they close in on another 90+ point campaign.

Laporte played 78 minutes in Sunday’s victory and around an hour and a half before kick-off, City’s no.14 was the only player who came onto the pitch to savour the pre-match atmosphere. The 28-year-old took several photos and remained on the grass for a few minutes before heading back down the tunnel.

Laporte’s sentimental gestures come amid reports he’s set to leave the club this summer. Once a first-team regular, the ex-Athletic Bilbao man has struggled to find consistent game time this season and has started on just 19 occasions, while he’s also fallen to fifth choice in Pep Guardiola’s pecking order at centre-back.

The City boss has insisted on several occasions in the past that he will not stand in the way of players who want to leave, and Laporte posted a cryptic message on social media in April which implied he is looking for a new venture. “After the rain, a rainbow; after a storm, the calm; and after an end, a new beginning,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail recently reported that Laporte will be allowed to leave City this summer, while Sport claimed earlier this year that Barcelona are keen on the player, who is ‘looking for a way out’ of the Etihad. Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain have also been reported as potential suitors for the City star.