AC Milan directors Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara recently hosted River Plate president Jorge Pablo Brito at Casa Milan, and it’s likely that they discussed one of the Argentine club’s top players.
Calciomercato.com described it as a “institutional lunch,” but adds that the participants ended up discussing Claudio Echeverri, dubbed “the real new Messi.” In addition to conversations with Milan, there is tremendous interest in the Real Madrid youngster.
Florentino Perez has even devised a strategy for Echeverri that entails him spending another year on loan at River Plate until he becomes 18, then travelling to Spain to play with Real Madrid Castilla, one of the club’s development teams.
Perez has had to chance because for now Echeverri has no intention of leaving his favourite team for the time being. He can play as an attacking midfielder or as a second striker, while he is proficient in scoring and creating for his team-mates.
Despite his diminutive stature, he can carry the ball proficiently and hold off opponents with the ball always linked to his foot. He has a €25 million release clause, which River want to double as quickly as possible.
He passed his first trial with Los Millonarios when he was 11 years old. That same year, he left Argentina for the first time, traveling to Italy to compete in the Venice Champions Trophy, a 7-a-side football event for the world’s greatest clubs.
Echeverri dominated, and despite his side finishing ‘just’ third, he receives all of the attention. He scored four goals in one game against Juventus, for a total of nine goals in six games. That is where the term ‘El Diablito’ (Little Devil) originated.
Despite a spinal fracture in 2022, which kept him out for several months, he competed in the South American Under 17 champions with his native Argentina a few weeks ago.
In eight games as captain and wearing the No.10 shirt, he scored five goals (including a remarkable one against Peru) and had three assists. Echeverri’s future is bright, whether at Milan, Real Madrid, or any other team.
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