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Manchester City have ensured they retain full control over Claudio Echeverri’s future despite his loan move to Benfica coming with an option to buy, according to reports from Portugal. The 20-year-old completed a season-long loan to Marco Silva’s side on Wednesday amidst a midfield rebuild that saw Hugo Viana bring Elliot Anderson, Enzo Fernandez and Ayyoub Bouaddi to the Etihad Stadium. Echeverri signed for the Citizens in 2024 but remained at his boyhood club, River Plate, until January 2025, following which he made a surprise Manchester City debut under Pep Guardiola in the 2025 FA Cup Final. The Argentine wonderkid has been across Europe in a bid to gain more minutes at the highest level, including spells last season at Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen and fellow City Football Group side Girona. Man City protect themselves with smart buy-back clause in Echeverri contract According to Portuguese outlet Record, with information relayed and translated by Sport Witness, City secured a £43.4 million buy-back clause as part of the agreement made with Benfica. However, if the 38-time Portuguese champions want to keep Echeverri permanently following his loan, they must pay a certain amount back to City, which would effectively cost the Premier League club nothing. There is some disagreement over the exact amount that Benfica would need to pay first, but according to Correio da Manha, that figure is around £19.1 million, with another £6.9 million available through bonuses and add-ons. This puts City in a strong position because they can let Echeverri build his career elsewhere through another loan move and potentially collect a sizeable fee next summer, or sell him to Benfica, where they could make a profit on the attacker. Echeverri already settled in Lisbon after Marco Silva’s specific desire to sign him Echeverri has already conducted his first training sessions with Benfica and has undergone physical tests while getting to know his teammates, working on and off the pitch to make a strong first impression, according to Record. Separately, Correio da Manhã states that Echeverri was an express request from former Fulham boss Silva, who identified the Argentine’s profile several weeks ago during the summer transfer window. It won’t be smooth sailing for Echeverri despite Benfica’s dominance in the Portuguese top flight, however, due to his competition with Heorhiy Sudajov for the attacking midfield role. But that contention is what City believe will make the youngster a much stronger and mentally resilient player if he ever returns to the Etihad to stamp his talent in English football.