World’s third-highest paid defender set to be unemployed after ripping up £390k contract with Cristiano Ronaldo’s side

AYMERIC LAPORTE is set to become unemployed after ripping up his contract at Al-Nassr.

The former Manchester City star is the third-highest-paid defender in the world with a weekly paycheck of £390,000.

Only former Chelsea flop Kalidou Koulibaly and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk earn more than the Spaniard.

Koulibaly is on an eye-watering £553,225-per-week at Al-Hilal while Van Dijk recently signed a £400,000-per-week deal at Anfield.

Laporte, 30, made the move to Saudi Arabia in 2023 and has made 69 appearances for the club.

He signed a three-year deal with Al-Nassr that was due to expire in 2026.

However, he could walk away from the club and his mega salary before it ends.

AS has reported that Laporte has had a “difficult relationship” with manager Stefano Pioli.

He was left out of the squad for Al-Nassr’s Asian Champions League semi-final defeat against Kawasaki Frontale.

Laporte will not be short of options should he leave the club in the coming days.

Real Madrid were previously linked with a move for Laporte before he left Man City.

The LaLiga giants are again in the market for a defender but are more likely to swoop for a younger player.

Elsewhere, Ligue 1 outfit Marseille are among the favourites to snatch up the 40-capped ace.

Laporte has been joined by some star names at Al-Nassr such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Jhon Duran and Marcelo Brozovic.

Meanwhile, he has previously admitted to making the move to Riyadh for non-footballing reasons.

He said: “To be honest, many of us have also come here not only for football.

“Many of us are happy with that, but I am also looking for something beyond that is not the economic part and such.

“In terms of quality of life, I expected something different because in the end here you spend three hours a day in the car.

“Riyadh is a waste of traffic, of time wasted in the car.”