Claudio Echeverri's Manchester City career has stalled, with the 20-year-old now on his third different loan in a little over 12 months and having started just six matches since an impressive performance in the Club World Cup victory over Al Ain.
Echeverri came off the bench in the 2025 FA Cup final and scored a fine free-kick in the Club World Cup win, suggesting his City career was ready to take flight. Instead, he underwhelmed at Bayer Leverkusen last season, having spurned City's preference for him to join Girona, before ending up at the Spanish side anyway in the second half of the season and suffering relegation.
Guardiola swipe and limited pre-season minutes
Pep Guardiola took a swipe at the player's representatives last season. Although Echeverri travelled on City's pre-season tour, he did not start a match, coming off the bench in all three fixtures with his on-pitch minutes totalling less than an hour.
Echeverri secured a deadline day move to Benfica last month on a season-long loan with an option for the Portuguese giants to make the deal permanent next summer. The hope is that the return of club football this week can spark a renaissance for a player who was highly regarded when he arrived at the Etihad from River Plate as a teenager.
Benfica debut and Silva's praise
He made his Benfica debut in mid-September, coming off the bench in the closing stages and creating a goal for countryman Gianluca Prestianni in a 3-1 win over Gil Vicente, but was not involved in the following two matches.
Benfica boss Marco Silva, who left Fulham in the summer, was pleased with Echeverri's cameo. Internally at the Stadium of Light there is a feeling that the international break will have played a pivotal role in helping the youngster settle and adjust to the club's demands. Indeed, he was among the scorers as Benfica beat Estoril 3-1 in a friendly last week.
“I liked him a lot, I think it's important,” said Silva of Echeverri's performance against Gil Vicente. “We didn't have much time to train, with the travel, he didn't have a full week to train with us and understand the dynamics, it's been more with videos and analysis.
“It's important to understand that in a difficult moment of the game he came on and showed what he does, which is to play calmly and not be afraid to ask for the ball, to take responsibility and to take risks. We needed that type of player, a creative player who gets into the box. He played little time, but I liked him a lot.”
