Athletic Bilbao’s try to get Aymeric Laporte back has run into trouble because FIFA won’t give them the International Transfer Certificate (ITC). This means Laporte doesn’t know where he’ll end up while Bilbao, Al-Nassr and him are still trying to figure things out. It really shows how messy international transfers can get with all them strict rules they gotta follow.
- FIFA said no to Athletic Bilbao when they asked for Laporte’s ITC.
- Bilbao, Al-Nassr and Laporte are still talking about it.
- FIFA turned down when the Spanish Football Federation tried to appeal.
FIFA’s Decision on Laporte’s Transfer
On September 1, 2025, Athletic Bilbao Al-Nassr and Aymeric Laporte all agreed he could go back to Bilbao. But they needed FIFA to give them an ITC which you gotta have for moving between countries. Even though Bilbao put everything in FIFA’s Time Matching System (TMS) something went wrong and they couldn’t finish it. When the Spanish Football Federation asked FIFA to make an exception on September 3 2025 they just said no again.
🚨 Athletic Bilbao official statement: FIFA rejected the ITC request — Laporte can’t join the club ❌ https://t.co/64DKMxENpV
— All About SPL 🔔 🇸🇦 (@Saudifutbol)
September 03, 2025
Laporte who can play for France and Spain started out as a pro at Athletic Bilbao and was real good in defense there. He went to Manchester City in January 2018 and won loads of Premier League titles with them. Then in 2023 he decided to try something different and went to Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
Athletic Bilbao’s Response and Future Steps
After FIFA said no, Athletic Bilbao is trying real hard to find a way to make everyone happy including Al-Nassr and Laporte. The club says if they can’t make the transfer happen nobody has to pay anything cause that’s what they wrote in the contract. It just goes to show how complicated it is when you try to move players between countries and how all them rules affect what clubs can do. While Athletic Bilbao looks at their legal options everyone in football is waiting to see what happens next in this weird situation.
Implications for International Transfers
The whole mess with trying to get Laporte to Athletic Bilbao shows how hard it is for clubs to deal with international transfer rules. Having to get ITCs and follow all them requirements can really mess up plans to move players around. As we wait to see what happens it reminds us how complicated football transfers are and why you gotta follow all them rules real careful.
For more details on Athletic Bilbao’s history and player transfers, visit their official page.
