Athletic Bilbao have signed Spain defender Aymeric Laporte from Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr after Fifa changed its initial decision and approved the transfer.

The La Liga club originally tried to bring in the 31-year-old on 1 September but the move was not completed before the transfer deadline.

The Spanish football federation (RFEF) then asked the world governing body to make an exception to its rules to allow a move to go through but the request was denied. It sought to overturn the decision – the request was then granted.

Spanish media said Al-Nassr had not filed the details of the transfer online into Fifa’s transfer matching system.

Former Manchester City player Laporte made more than 200 appearances in his first spell at the Basque club between 2012 and 2018.

“Athletic Club would like to report that Fifa has authorised the RFEF to obtain the International Transfer Certificate (ITC) from the Saudi Arabian football federation,” said Athletic in a statement.

“Once the ITC is issued, Aymeric Laporte can be registered with Athletic Club.”

Laporte spent five years at City, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League, before moving to Al-Nassr in 2023.

He has made 40 appearances for Spain and was part of their Euro 2024 winning team.