Barcelona told to pay staggering €80m for World Cup winner Aymeric Laporte as Athletic Club rule out cut-price exit
Barcelona have discovered that any summer move for Aymeric Laporte will require a remarkable financial outlay, with Athletic Club valuing the veteran centre-back at a staggering €80 million.
World Cup heroics fuel Camp Nou interest
Speculation linking the 32-year-old with a switch to the Spotify Camp Nou has intensified in recent weeks, driven by his outstanding displays for Spain on the way to La Roja's triumph at the 2026 World Cup. Rolling back the years, the former Manchester City man proved himself one of the standout performers of the entire tournament.
Crucially, those performances came alongside Barcelona's own Pau Cubarsí at the heart of the Spanish defence — a partnership so impressive that those in positions of power in Catalunya's capital were in turn tipped to attempt to reunite the pair at club level.
No bargain deal on the table
Initially, it had been suggested that a deal could be struck on the cheap, owing to a supposed cut-price release clause in Laporte's Athletic Club contract. The existence of any such clause, however, has since been firmly denied.
Not only that, but Athletic have made it abundantly clear that an eye-watering offer would be required for them to even take a summer sale into consideration — and the figure now quoted is sure to give Barcelona serious pause for thought.
As per a report from Mundo Deportivo, citing Diario AS: “The club has valued the centre-back, one of the key players for the Spanish national team that won the World Cup, at 80 million euros.”
What comes next for Barcelona?
The valuation represents a significant obstacle to Barcelona's plans to bolster their backline with a proven, tournament-winning defender. At 32, Laporte would ordinarily command a far more modest fee, but Athletic's hardline stance reflects both his importance at San Mamés and the renewed stature that comes with being a key figure in a World Cup-winning side.
For now, the message from Bilbao is unmistakable: unless an €80 million bid lands on the table, Laporte will not be lining up alongside Cubarsí in club colours next season. Whether Barcelona are prepared to even entertain such an outlay remains to be seen.