Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte thinks his continued omission from the France squad by Didier Deschamps is down to “personal reasons.”
After featuring 19 times at under-21 level, Laporte was first called into France’s senior side in March 2017, but is yet to win a cap for his country.
Laporte has been a key part of Manchester City’s defence since joining in January 2018, but was overlooked in the last set of international fixtures for Crystal Palace’s Mamadou Sakho.
“The national team coach takes his decisions,” Laporte told Basque TV. “It’s not to do with sport. If he doesn’t call me up, I think it’s for personal reasons.
“You have to respect his decision. I’m not going to call him to get an explanation. I work every day with my club to get called up for the national side.”
Born in the southwestern French town of Agen, Laporte made his name in Spain during an eight-year spell at Athletic Bilbao before moving to City for a then-club record £57 million fee.
His time at Bilbao reportedly led to discussions being held over his eligibility to play for Spain, with former France U21 boss Willy Sagnol saying that Laporte had “let doubts be established” over initial refusal to publicly declare for the country of his birth and this could have affected Deschamps’ decisions.
Laporte, however, has now made his mind up.
“I have chosen France,” he said. “I’m French. I don’t even have dual nationality. I’m not going to ask for it.”
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