Aymeric Laporte granted Spanish citizenship to allow him to play for Spain at Euro 2020
Aymeric Laporte has played for France across their youth level
|Getty
The Spanish Football Federation has granted Aymeric Laporte Spanish citizenship in order to let him represent the Spain national team. This comes in light of the 26-year-old looking to play more international football with him still uncapped for France despite featuring for Les Blues’ youth sides.
Aymeric Laporte has been one of the best defenders representing Manchester City with his talismanic presence at the heart of the defence been more than helpful for the Cityzens over the last few years. However, while Ruben Dias and the resurgence of John Stones has seen Laporte's game-time grow limited this season but that has been the case for France and Laporte with the defender struggling to earn even a single cap for Les Blues.
That has seen reports indicate that the 26-year-old Manchester City defender was looking to switch allegiances from France to Spain, with him eligible through his great-grandparents and of Basque descent. Laporte is also understood to have dual French and Spanish nationality and, via an official notice, the Spanish government confirmed that the defender has been granted citizenship in order to make the process and switch to Spain easier.
"At the proposal of the Minister of Justice in response to exceptional circumstances that concur in Don Aymeric Jean Louis Gerard Alphonse Laporte, and after deliberation of the Council of Ministers at its meeting on May 11, 2021, I come to grant Spanish nationality by letter of nature to Don Aymeric Jean Louis Gerard Alphonse Laporte, with a civil neighborhood of the Basque Country. This concession will produce effects with the requirements, conditions and terms provided for in the Civil Code," reads the translated notice.
Not only that, the Spanish Football Federation have already started the paperwork with FIFA and are awaiting the final approval from the world governing body before Luis Enrique can pick the Laporte as a part of his squad for the postponed Euro 2020.
