Aymeric Laporte Talks Manchester City FFP Ban Reaction: 'We Are Professionals'

Aymeric Laporte has opened up on Manchester City's players' responses to the club's two-year European ban for breaching financial fair play (FFP) laws, saying they're professionals who "have to do our job."

UEFA published a report on February 14 announcing that City will be banned from the next two Champions League campaigns and fined €30 million (£25.1 million) for overstating sponsorship revenue between 2012 and 2016.

Laporte, 25, recently returned from a four-month spell out of action with a serious knee injury, and he said the Citizens have enough motivation to bounce back from the punishment, per the Mirror's David McDonnell:

"We are professionals, a big team with big personalities in the dressing room, and I think we just think about football, nothing else.

"We are professionals and have to do our job. That’s all. We don’t need more motivation for anything.

"Every game is tough and we have to be focused. The Champions League is important for us and we want the best campaign we can do."

Pep Guardiola's side are second in the Premier League, 22 points behind Liverpool with 12 matches remaining. However, they are set to face Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup final on March 1 and are still in the running for this term's Champions League and FA Cup.

Laporte looked back to his reliable best when City beat West Ham United 2-0 on Wednesday. Kevin De Bruyne assisted Rodrigo for their first goal before bagging the second himself in a decisive win:

City issued a statement in response to UEFA's decision to suspend them from Europe's premier club competition, saying their case was "initiated by UEFA, prosecuted by UEFA and judged by UEFA."

Guardiola, 49, said after the win against West Ham that he was confident their ban would be overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), as Omnisport shared:

City looked resolute in their first match since the ban was announced, dominating with more than 75 per cent possession and preventing their guests from having a shot on target, per WhoScored.com.

The team sorely missed Laporte during his stint on the sidelines, and OptaPro's Adam Bate pointed to some of the centre-back's elite qualities when compared with those of his peers:

There is a question of how a European suspension could affect City's players, some of whom might question their place at the Etihad Stadium if it means missing out on featuring in the Champions League.

Raheem Sterling's agent, Aidy Ward, told the Mirror's John Cross soon after the UEFA ban was announced: "Raheem is solely focused on Manchester City and will not be distracted by any talk of transfers to any club at the moment."

The initial response has been good, but City face a major test to advance in the Champions League when they travel to face Real Madrid for the first leg of their last-16 clash on Wednesday.