Aymeric Laporte, a defender for Manchester City, joined the migration of Premier League players to Saudi Arabia on Thursday when he agreed to a reported £23 million transfer to Al Nassr. Laporte, a center defender from Spain, enjoyed success with City and won 12 major awards during that time.

His chances of playing regularly were further diminished by the close-season purchase of Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol, who helped City win the treble. The 29-year-old joins Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez in accepting a lucrative move to the Gulf State. Mahrez just joined Al Ahli.

Laporte joined City in January 2018 and made 180 appearances after moving from Athletic Bilbao for a then-club record £57 million. As a member of Pep Guardiola’s team, Laporte won five Premier League championships, the Champions League, and five domestic cups. He will now team up with Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr of the Saudi Pro League. Man City swoop for Belgian winger DokuJeremy Doku, a Belgian winger, was acquired by Manchester City on a five-year contract from French club Rennes. The 21-year-old Doku is expected to cost the European champions £55 million.

Doku, who made his debut as a youth with Anderlecht in his native Belgium, scored 12 goals in 92 games for Rennes. After Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol, two Croatian internationals, he is City’s third acquisition of the summer window. Before the transfer window closes on September 1, City is also anticipated to acquire a midfielder to fill in for Kevin De Bruyne, who is anticipated to miss up to four months owing to a hamstring injury.

Following the breakdown of interest in West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta due to a Football Association inquiry, Wolves’ Matheus Nunes and Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze are reportedly targets. Spanish football executive Rubiales is reportedly leaving. Following widespread criticism from the football community for aggressively kissing a Spain player on the mouth after the Women’s World Cup final, Spanish football president Luis Rubiales said on Thursday that he will resign from his position.

According to the sources, Rubiales, 46, will present his resignation as president of the Spanish football federation (RFEF) today before an additional general meeting. Rubiales offered player Jennifer Hermoso an uninvited kiss on the lips during Spain’s 1-0 victory over England in the championship game in Sydney on Sunday. He also made an obscene gesture in winning. Days of criticism from individuals like Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s prime minister, various men’s La Liga clubs, as well as from outside, put Rubiales under unheard-of pressure to leave.

On Thursday, FIFA started disciplinary action against Rubiales. In a joint statement with the union Futpro, Spanish singer Hermoso demanded that the RFEF president be held accountable. Messi advances to a new final following Miami’s comebackInter Miami overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat Cincinnati on penalties after their dramatic US Open Cup semifinal ended 3-3 after extra time in Ohio, thanks in large part to Lionel Messi’s inspiration. Miami is currently one victory away from winning their second championship since Messi joined the team last month after defeating Nashville on penalties to win the Leagues Cup on Saturday.

Similar to England’s FA Cup or Spain’s Copa del Rey, the US Open Cup, which dates back more than a century to 1914, is American football’s oldest and most significant knockout tournament. Houston Dynamo will play Miami in the championship match on September 27 after the Texans defeated Real Salt Lake 3-1 in overtime. Cincinnati, who is currently leading Major League Soccer while Miami is at the bottom of the standings, would have been the clear favorite a month ago. However, the Florida team is now a significantly different squad from the one that had lost all 11 of its league games prior to the Argentine’s arrival.