Claudio Echeverri: From River Plate to Girona and AC Monza Interest

Claudio Echeverri’s European education has not followed the glossy brochure.

Signed by Manchester City from River Plate in 2025, dropped straight into an FA Cup final, packed off to Bayer Leverkusen, recalled early, then reborn at Girona – the Argentinian’s route through the City Football Group has been jagged, messy, and suddenly very interesting. Interesting enough that AC Monza now want in.

From River to the Etihad, and a brutal introduction

When Echeverri landed in England from Buenos Aires, he walked into a Manchester City side searching for rhythm and identity. The 20-year-old was not eased in. He was thrown at the deep end.

He made only three appearances for City, but one of them came on one of English football’s grandest stages: an FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace. Harsh setting, harsh outcome. No bedding-in period, no gentle domestic cup run against lower-league opposition. Straight to Wembley, straight into the noise.

His most memorable moment in sky blue arrived thousands of miles away, at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States. Against Al Ain, Echeverri produced the kind of strike that gets replayed in academy presentations for years: a free-kick from around 20 yards, whipped over the wall, kissing the underside of the bar on its way in. A first – and so far only – goal for Manchester City, but one that hinted at something far more substantial.

Then came reality. City’s attacking areas are stacked with world-class talent. There was no obvious pathway to regular minutes. The club decided a loan was the fairest route.

The wrong move: a stalled year in Germany

City wanted him at Girona, safely within the CFG structure, in a team built to give young technicians the ball and the responsibility that comes with it. Echeverri’s camp chose a different route: Bayer Leverkusen.

On paper, it looked bold. In practice, it quickly turned bleak.

Across the first half of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season, Echeverri managed just 270 minutes in 11 appearances. Seven times he sat as an unused substitute in the 13 league games for which he was available. The minutes never really came, the rhythm never arrived. For a player who thrives on touches and involvement, he drifted to the edge of the picture.

Leverkusen manager Kasper Hjulmand saw it, City saw it, and by mid-season the loan was cut short. The agreement was terminated ahead of schedule, a tacit admission that the move had not worked for anyone.

The reset button lay in Catalonia.

Girona: at last, a platform

In January, Echeverri moved to Girona and finally stepped back into the City Football Group ecosystem. The difference was immediate: more minutes, more responsibility, more trust.

He made 17 La Liga appearances for the Spanish side, scoring once and providing one assist. Both contributions came in the same game, a standout performance against Athletic Club in March that felt like a statement – not in numbers, but in authority. This was a player starting to feel at home again.

The consistency he never found in Germany began to surface in Spain. Regular football sharpened his decisions, restored his confidence and reminded observers why City had invested in him in the first place. He may not have lit up the league statistically, but the trend line finally pointed upwards.

Monza circle as Europe takes notice

That upward curve has not gone unnoticed. Across Europe, clubs have started to track the Argentinian’s progress more closely. Among them, AC Monza.

Sporting director Nicolas Burdisso has made his intentions clear in Italy: he wants Claudio Echeverri at Monza next season. For a club building a reputation as an ambitious, savvy operator in Serie A, targeting a Manchester City loanee who has just found his feet in La Liga fits the profile.

For City, the situation is more complicated. Echeverri’s recent run at Girona suggests another loan could be the right next step – a season of guaranteed minutes in a top-five league, under a coach willing to put the ball at his feet and the responsibility on his shoulders. His load, intensity and exposure to different European environments are all trending in the right direction.

At the same time, every successful loan sharpens the question: when does he return to the Etihad to stay?

City originally believed they were securing a future first-team contributor when they brought him from River Plate in 2025. The talent is still there, now tempered by a bruising spell in Germany and a more encouraging one in Spain. Another loan, potentially in Serie A with Monza, could be the bridge between promise and proof.

If he keeps stacking these experiences at the elite level, the version of Claudio Echeverri that walks back through the doors at the Etihad may finally resemble the player City thought they were signing – and the one Europe is starting to chase.