Laporte was given his senior debut by Leeds manager Bielsa at Athletic Bilbao.
Aymeric Laporte has been quoted by Mundo Deportivo as paying tribute to the three managers he has worked under since being handed his debut by Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa at Athletic Bilbao back in 2012.
The 24-year-old was thrusted into the Bilbao first team by Bielsa in a Europa League clash back in November 2012, a match which Bilbao won 2-0 over Israeli side Irona Kiryat Shmona.
Just a few days later, Laporte was given his La Liga debut – a 1-0 triumph over Celta Vigo. He worked under Bielsa for more than a year before the Argetine was replaced by now-Barcelona boss Valverde.
Shortly after Valverde left in 2017 to join Barcelona, Laporte moved to Manchester City to work under Pep Guardiola and the defender spoke of how he is lucky to have worked under the world’s best managers.
“I’ve been lucky to have the best coaches in the world,” Laporte said. “With Pep I have learned a lot and with my teammates it is much easier.”
He clocked up 222 appearances for Bilbao, many of which were under Bielsa before completing a £57million move (BBC Sport) to City in January of this year, where he has continued to impress and become a first-team regular.
Bielsa is known to gather praise from huge names within world football. Former Champions League winner Diego Milito was full of praise for the Argentine last month, while Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino are renowned admirers.
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