Claudio Echeverri’s Manchester City prospects in doubt as Pep Guardiola slams agent over loan mess | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has slammed Claudio Echeverri’s agent over the mess the Bayer Leverkusen loanee finds him in on loan in Germany.

Echeverri has struggled for minutes since moving to the Bundesliga to progress his development, having joined Manchester City’s first-team ranks in January before impressing in training and at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.

The 19-year-old was advised by executives at the Etihad Stadium – led by newly-appointed director of football Hugo Viana – to follow in the footsteps on Vitor Reis, who moved to Girona on loan for the 2025-26 season – but Echeverri’s representatives stood their ground and pushed for a move to the German top-flight.

Reis has flourished in Spain whereas Echeverri has barely kicked a ball for Leverkusen, who face Manchester City in their fifth UEFA Champions League group-phase game of the campaign at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening.

Manchester City are set to hold crunch talks with Leverkusen and Echeverri’s representatives over the teenager’s loan, which could be cut short in January should the Blues want to send him on loan elsewhere or bring him back to England.

Guardiola will understandably be aggrieved with the manner in which Echeverri’s camp have conducted themselves and not paid heed to the advice offered by Manchester City bosses, who assured the Argentine a greater guarantee of first-team action when pitching a loan to sister club Girona.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of the Leverkusen game, Guardiola gave his two cents on the mess Echeverri finds himself in and though the Catalan deviated from a thorough verdict, he did find time for a subtle dig at Echeverri’s entourage.

On the prospect of re-calling the Argentine star to Manchester in January, Guardiola said: “It’s a question for his beautiful agent.

“We have an incredible appreciation about him as a player, and what happened in Leverkusen you have to ask, I don’t know because I’m not involved and didn’t speak with him. I’m pretty sure his agent will know everything than everyone.”

Manchester City can take another significant step towards qualification for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 with three points over Leverkusen on Tuesday, with Guardiola expected to shuffle his pack after suffering a 2-1 defeat against Newcastle at the weekend.

Tijjani Reijnders is expected to return to the starting XI after failing to start in City’s last two games against Liverpool and Newcastle, having impressed for Netherlands in the recent international break.

The midweek European tie could also serve as a venue for preliminary talks between City and Leverkusen bosses over Echeverri, who with his agent has gone as far as possibly risking his future at the Etihad Stadium after defying club bosses to push for a move to Germany, which has not worked out for the betterment of the playmaker so far.