Aymeric Laporte’s seventh very comes out in capital letters. “I am very, very, very, very, very, very, VERY happy at everything I’ve given Spain since I arrived,” he says. “I couldn’t be prouder of what I’ve done.” He made his international debut only in June 2021 but has played 34 games, 32 as a starter, and been at three major tournaments. There have been two Nations League finals, his country’s first trophy in 11 years, and a European Championship semi-final at Wembley. Now, sitting in Donaueschingen, bloodstain on his top, he is about to leave for Berlin for the final of Euro 2024, arguably the tournament’s best defender.
Of course he’s proud: that goes without saying, or it should. Sometimes, though, it seems Laporte needs to say it. A lot of the time, in fact. If there is a player who has shut most mouths here, he feels, it is him. “I’ve suffered a lot of criticism, not just this season but every season,” he says. “There have been debates – I don’t always please everyone – but I’ve worked the same way as always, the same as when we won the Nations League. Since I’ve been playing for the national team, there have been very few games I’ve played badly, that have given people reasons to doubt me. But a Euros is bigger, more visible, and it has been good for me.”
