Manchester City’s stance on Claudio Echeverri is becoming clearer, and it leans firmly against a return to River Plate.
According to Javier Gil Navarro, Pep Guardiola does not want the midfielder back in Argentina. The manager was already critical of the player’s agent earlier this year, believing the representative pushed for a loan to Bayer Leverkusen rather than accept Girona, which was Guardiola’s preferred destination.
Gil Navarro reports that, because of that tension, Guardiola is not willing to consider any request linked to River Plate. If Manchester City end the Leverkusen loan, he will push for a move to Girona instead.
The Spanish club, part of the City Football Group, remains the option that best fits the plan to give Echeverri regular minutes in Europe. The final decision is expected within days.
Another layer in this story comes from journalist Germán Balcarce, who highlighted a financial obstacle.
River would not only receive the player on loan, but Manchester City would also end up paying performance bonuses worth up to three million euros over a year. Those payments relate to the original transfer agreement.
Balcarce explains that River have received only two million euros of the nine million available in bonuses. Echeverri met early targets while still on loan at the club in 2024. He has not reached any of the remaining objectives this year.
Sending him back to Argentina would put Manchester City in a position where they could trigger bonuses for a player gaining minutes outside Europe.
That scenario is considered unlikely from a financial and sporting perspective. With Guardiola favouring Girona and Manchester City focused on European development, the River Plate option appears more distant than ever.
