Laporte leaves Man City to join Ronaldo, Mané at Saudi club Al-Nassr

Spain centre-back Aymeric Laporte is heading to Saudi Arabia to play with Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mané after losing his place in Manchester City's expensively assembled defence.

The 29-year-old Laporte is joining Al-Nassr, City said on Thursday, for a reported fee of £23.5 million ($30 million).

He has dropped down the list of centre-backs at City, with new signing Josko Gvardiol and Nathan Ake ahead of him as left-sided defenders in the English Premier League champions' new three-at-the-back formation.

Along with Ronaldo and Mané, Al-Nassr has also Alex Telles and Marcelo Brozovic as overseas players in its squad.

Al-Nassr is one of four storied Saudi clubs effectively nationalised by the sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund, which claims assets of about $700 billion and is funding the kingdom's heavy spending on football.

Laporte revealed in a social media video he posted on Wednesday that he would be leaving City, five-and-a-half years after joining from Athletic Bilbao in Spain. He has won 13 major titles at City.

"When I first joined, I was excited about the prospect of winning trophies," Laporte said.

"However, I could not have imagined the success we would go on to achieve together."