Aymeric Laporte says he has ambitions to become the best defender in Europe and believes that Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos remains the leading centre-back in the game as it stands.
Laporte has made a flying start to the season having started and completed every single Premier League and Champions League match Manchester City have played and the France U21 international has admitted that he would like to be considered as the best defender on the continent one day.
Will Laporte ever match Ramos’ achievements in football? XX key points
1. Laporte cost City a club record £57m in January and looks set to become one of the stalwarts of their defence.
2. Ramos has won four league titles and four Champions League trophies during his time with Real Madrid.
3. The Real Madrid captain has been heavily criticised this year after his tackle on Mohamed Salah in last years Champions League final seriously injured the Liverpool star.
4. Laporte played against Ramos on numerous occasions during his time with Athletic Bilbao.
5. The 24-year-old has helped City to keep seven clean sheets in 12 Premier League matches this season and has one goal to his name.
Bizarrely, Laporte is still overlooked at international level, with France boss Didier Deschamps preferring the likes of Kurt Zouma and Mamadou Sakho to the Manchester City defender in recent months.
Guardiola’s side are already firmly established at the summit of the Premier League table after becoming the first side to reach the 100 point mark in the English top flight last season.
Laporte believes he’s in the perfect place to develop his game and says Sergio Ramos has “an edge” to his game that makes his Europe’s best.
“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?” Laporte said.
“Sergio Ramos is probably the best centre-back in the world at the moment as we know we have to match his standards or better him if we are to be as good as he is.
“To get to the top, you must have an edge to your game, like Ramos does.”
It’s now nearly a year since Laporte arrived in England and the Frenchman has been happy with the way he’s adapted to Premier League football so far.
“It’s similar (to Spain) but more physical, but I am really enjoying that aspect of it,” Laporte told City’s official programme.
“I’ve enjoyed it from day one and I feel very much at home here.
“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.”
Where does Laporte rank among Europe’s best?
Guardiola has spoken of his admiration for Laporte this season and explained why he’s been an ever-present in his Manchester City team so far this term.
“First of all his quality and his mentality, he’s a guy who wants to learn,” the City boss said.
“He has enough arrogance and that’s so important to play at a high level.
“He didn’t play the World Cup so he’s fresh. He’s not selected by France so he’s fresh again and he’s playing at a high level. We are so satisfied with what he’s shown so far.
“He’s strong, he’s not skinny or small, he needed some periods to adapt but not too much.
“More than 100 games playing against Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar, that helps. It’s already his body, his mind.”
If Manchester City to go on to win more titles in the coming years with Laporte at centre-back, there’s no doubt that he will be considered as one of Europe’s best players in his position.
Trophies are what football is all about and the more you win, the more respect you earn. There’s only so long Deschamps can continue to overlook Aymeric Laporte.
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