Home Football Manchester City has officially signed Argentine prodigy Claudio Echeverri, dubbed ‘Messi 2.0,’ for a bargain sum of £12.5 million

Manchester City has officially signed Argentine prodigy Claudio Echeverri, dubbed ‘Messi 2.0,’ for a bargain sum of £12.5 million

Football — 05/07/2024

The Sun Sports (UK) reported today (January 26) that Manchester City had completed the purchase of Argentine wonderkid Claudio Echeverri. Pep Guardiola’s squad spent a modest £12.5 million, with additional fees paid to River Plate, to seal the deal with the 18-year-old, nicknamed “Second Messi,” till 2028.

Claudio Echeverri, who had previously stated a desire to play for Barcelona, now joins Manchester City as a promising player. However, Manchester City will enable River Plate to keep “Second Messi” Claudio Echeverri on loan until the end of the year.

Man City officially announced: “We are pleased to announce that we have completed the signing of Claudio Echeverri from River Plate.” Claudio Echeverri has signed a deal with Manchester City until June 2028, but will continue to play for River Plate until joining the Etihad Stadium in January next year.Echeverri, who previously captained the Argentina U-17 squad in the recent U-17 World Cup semi-finals, is currently representing Argentina U-23 in the South American Olympic qualifiers.

The “Second Messi” Claudio Echeverri has made six appearances for River Plate and has one assist.Chelsea and Barcelona were earlier thought to be interested in signing Claudio Echeverri, a teenage player. Echeverri drew attention at last year’s U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, where he scored five goals to assist Argentina’s U-17 squad reach the semi-finals while wearing the number 10 jersey like Lionel Messi.

Claudio Echeverri, a young talent, isn’t the first River Plate player to join Manchester City. His Argentine counterpart, Julian Alvarez, did the same two years ago. After his transfer to Manchester City was completed, Alvarez stayed in Argentina to play on loan.Julian Alvarez now has 30 goals and 15 assists in 79 Manchester City matches. Julian Alvarez, 23, has won five major trophies with Manchester City, including a historic treble of the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, and the UEFA Super Cup. He is also a World Cup champion for the Argentina national team.

Meanwhile, Claudio Echeverri had already stated that he wanted to play for Barcelona. Before the 2022 World Cup, the “Second Messi” informed reporters that, like River Plate, he wants to play for Barcelona. I’m a great fan of Lionel Messi and have seen him play for Barcelona. So, I’ve had this squad in my heart since I was very young.”