Barcelona has missed out on yet another promising young South America star as Manchester City is set to sign River Plate’s Claudio Echeverri.
Gabriel Moscardo, one of the Blaugrana’s midfield targets, recently decided to join Paris Saint-Germain from Corinthians.
They will now see the loss of another such treasure from the continent of South America.
After overcoming Barcelona and other suitors in the chase for the teenage wonderkid, Manchester City and River Plate have reached a deal for the signing of Claudio Echeverri.
The 17-year-old Echeverri has been making waves in South America for some time now and is seen to be a generational talent.
Interest in him increased significantly after he demonstrated his boundless potential at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Indonesia, which took place more recently.
Barcelona, for example, was one of Echeverri’s biggest suitors and had stated that they would like to meet his €25 million release clause.
A transfer like that was always unfeasible given their Financial Fair Play status, though, and Man City is now almost done signing him.
The report claims that a €25 million agreement has been made between Manchester City and River Plate. And the Premier League winners have persuaded the teenage player, dubbed “El Diablito,” to finalise the transaction and sign a long-term contract.
The plan is for the operation to be set up like the Cityzens did with Julian Alvarez in 2022; Echeverri will join them in January and then go to River Plate on loan until the summer, when he will move permanently to England.
For their part, Barça will regret losing out on one of the most promising prospects to come out of South America.
