Aymeric Laporte had a very successful period at Manchester City.
Between January 2018 and the summer of 2023, the defender made 180 appearances across all competitions and win numerous domestic and European trophies along the way.
The Spaniard also played alongside a significant number of some of the best players the Etihad Stadium has ever seen under Pep Guardiola.
In fact, Laporte has now shared some heavy praise for one of his former City teammates and even likened him to one of the club’s modern legends.
Aymeric Laporte says Ilkay Gundogan is just like David Silva
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Laporte had this to say about Ilkay Gundogan ahead of Spain’s quarter-final clash against Germany in the quarter-finals of the 2024 European Championship.
He said: “He is one of the best I’ve ever played with in this position, without a shadow of a doubt.
“He spins and turns in an outstanding manner. Then he gets every control oriented towards attack, straight away.
“I’ve seen very few players who can do that in those central positions. I would possibly compare him to David Silva, who was as good or even better in that regard.
“They are those sorts of players who make the difference simply by how they control the ball.”
Gundogan was one of City’s best signings of the Guardiola era
During his seven years at City between 2016 and 2023, Gundogan scored 60 goals and supplied 38 assists in 304 appearances across all competitions, captaining the club to their historic Treble in his final season with the Blues.
With Laporte playing in 134 games with Gundogan, who Micah Richards recently said he was gutted to see leave the Manchester club, and 66 games with Silva, it’s undeniable that the defender knows what the both former City midfielders are like.
Now that the Spaniard has shared his admiration for Gundogan and compared him to someone as respected at City as Silva, we feel that the German should be seen as one of the best signings of the Guardiola era and one of the club’s most important players in their recent history.
