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French centre-back Laporte was handed his professional debut by Bielsa at Athletic Bilbao in November 2012 against Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona in a Europa League clash.

Laporte then went on to make 15 La Liga outings that same season as part of a breakthrough campaign before Bielsa left the club when his contract expired and eventually joined Marseille the following May.

For Bielsa, spells in charge of Lazio and Lille also followed before the switch to Leeds in June 2018, by which point Laporte was five months into life at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola.

ONE OF THE BEST: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, right, with centre-back Aymeric Laporte in a training session back in February. Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images.

And speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, 25-year-old Laporte said that Bielsa and Guardiola were not just the two best managers he had worked with but probably the best on the globe.

"I think they are maybe the best two managers in the world," said Laporte.

"They are very different but they know everything about football – different things, but they know everything."

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Manchester City star serves up high praise for Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa