Top 22 Aymeric Laporte Quotes

It’s clear that the more competition there is in a team, the better it is for the club.

When I was 11, I went to a sports school about an hour from home and stayed there during the week, only going home at weekends. That was hard, but it prepared me before I left for Bilbao; it made me stronger.

I’m trying to evolve with how football is going.

I’m very grateful to Manchester City. They are incredible.

My style of play has always been ‘Guardiola style,’ so I’ve not had too many problems. At the same time, he helps you to evolve and to change little things, because it’s obviously not exactly the same style of play as at Bilbao.

Every training session you take part in, you have to work very hard and train hard because there is no other way to get where you want to be – it’s not a secret and not a magic formula – just hard work and application.

Bielsa certainly had his own methods. He brought in laptops and showed us videos of where to be on the pitch in terms of position. They were strange little things, but that’s why we learnt a lot under him.

I am here to win every possible title, including the Champions League.

I was always clear in my mind what I wanted to do. Becoming a footballer is a dream that is unattainable for most people. We were told that out of maybe a thousand kids, only one would make it as a player, but I worked hard and kept fighting for my dream.

City are a club with a lot of ambition, and they are one of the best teams in Europe.

I play at Manchester City. I try and give performances for them game after game.

The Champions League is probably the biggest goal a footballer can have.

I’ve spent my whole life playing football. My father didn’t want me to play rugby because he felt it was very hard on the body, so at school, I was encouraged to play football, and that’s where everything started.

My goal is to play at Euro 2016 with France.

I’ve renewed four times with Athletic. I’ve done what I wanted, I’ve shown confidence in the club and them in me.

I began as a striker, then became a holding midfielder, and now I’m a centre-half. I’ve done everything except play in goal.

I am learning English and can understand better than I can speak it. But having said that, I am learning as quickly as I can.

I could be a world champion.

Play with Spain? I think that’s already closed, but even so, I opt for France because I’m French. I don’t have dual citizenship, and I’m not going to ask for it.

Do I want to be the best defender in Europe? Of course. Any defender will tell you that – who wouldn’t want to be the best?

In football, there has always been this idea of having a left-footer and a right-footer in central defence.

There is only one thing that matters to me: the France team.