Even though Manchester City are still to announce signing Claudio Echeverri from River Plate, it’s no secret the transfer is about to happen.
Pep Guardiola’s side are expected to land the youngster for around €15m, with another €9m in performance bonuses.
As TyC Sports today featured an interview with former Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez, who’s now a manager at Independiente, they gave him a couple of questions about Echeverri.
The coach claimed that the player previously surprised him in a match against his former club Rosario Central, as he stood out in that game.
“I think he’s a very interesting player, which you don’t see today. In traditional football, you don’t see him as much, but the truth is that I was really surprised by the personality he has,” said Tevez.
“In the final against Rosario Central, the first four River chances were his. He has a very strong personality, it’s not easy to have Pity Martinez, De la Cruz and all the River boys up front, and the kid came on, went forward, asked for it and took charge of the game. He surprised me a lot.”
Tevez, however, also regretted that Argentine football has been losing such young talents to European clubs.
“We know that Argentine football is not going through its best economic times. Look at the fact that some clubs have 2 million to bring in a player, others a little more and some a little less to put together a squad. If we go further, Brazil has 20 million, 30 million to build a new squad. Argentine football, with the exception of River and Boca, is difficult for us. I see a great future for it. Let’s get used to the fact that when a jewel comes along like that, we’re not going to enjoy it very much.”
Carlos Tevez played for Manchester City between 2009 and 2013, and had a record of 73 goals and 35 assists in 148 appearances for the club. There he won an FA Cup in 2011 and a Premier League trophy in 2012. He then played for Juventus, Shanghai Shenhua and Boca Juniors before retiring in 2021.
As for Echeverri, the player is just getting started with six appearances for River Plate’s first team, and will soon have a chance to show his potential at Manchester City.
