Laporte buys donated outfit of late French boxer Alexis Vastine… only to return kit to his father
Aymeric Laporte has showed his sensitive side by returning the outfit he bought of late French boxer Alexis Vastine to his father after it was donated to a health workers fund.
The Manchester City defender bought the kit, from the London 2012 Olympics, for £4,360 (€5,000) but opted to return it straight back to Vastine’s father Alain, who’d donated the gear in the first place.
Vastine, who won bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the light-welterweight division, tragically died in a 2015 helicopter crash in Argentina at 28 years of age.
Aymeric Laporte bought the outfit for £4,360 but classily gave it back to Alexis Vastine’s father
Vastine, who won bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, died in a helicopter crash in 2015
The kit was donated to the fund of international handball player Cyril Dumoulin, who is raising money for health workers during the coronavirus crisis.
When the outfit was donated, Dumoulin was moved by the offering, saying: “An INCREDIBLE donation from Alexis Vastine’s dad. Thanks to his generosity we can put on sale the outfit of the London Olympics by Alexis Vastine.’
The classy gesture from Laporte was highly praised on social media, with City team-mate Raheem Sterling tweeting: ‘Class’.
Another user lauded Laporte, saying: ‘Laporte has permanent class as a human being.’
Vastine, in action here in Beijing, competed at two Olympic Games before his death at 28
Vastine was killed after two helicopters collided in mid-air in March 2015, with all ten people on board both aircrafts losing their lives.
Fellow Olympian Camille Muffat also died, as the pair were filming a new French reality TV show called Dropped.
Laporte, meanwhile, praised Dumoulin’s health fund, saying on Twitter: ‘It’s nice – thank you especially to you for your action against the virus and these auctions that help those who need it most. See you soon.’
The 25-year-old Frenchman, who has missed most of this season due to a knee injury, also supports the Premier League #PlayersTogether fund for NHS workers during the current crisis.
