Manchester City have made a transfer decision this summer that could come back to haunt them in the Champions League over the coming months.
The Citizens are currently in the process of moving players on, with Pep Guardiola eager to streamline and reduce the size of his squad before deadline day.
A number of players, such as Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker and James McAtee, have moved on, either on loan or permanently.
The Champions League draw has ensured that Manchester City will renew acquaintances with several players who recently left.
Claudio Echeverri in action during Crystal Palace v Manchester City.
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Bayer Leverkusen loanee Claudio Echeverri could go up against Manchester City
The big reunion involving City and an ex-player this season involves Kevin De Bruyne, who is set to return to the Etihad when Napoli face Guardiola’s side.
Yan Couto, who swapped City for Borussia Dortmund this summer, is another player who is expected to face his former side in the Champions League.
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However, in those cases, City moved those players on permanently, and the prospect of facing them again just comes with the territory.
The one decision that City may regret involves Claudio Echeverri, who has been loaned out to Leverkusen.
In the Premier League, loan players are not allowed to face their parent clubs, but no such rule applies in the Champions League.
UEFA rules dictate that clubs cannot apply “any influence whatsoever over the players that another club may [or may not] field in a match”.
This means that a loan player can face their parent team in the Champions League, Europa League or Europa Conference League.
Therefore, Echeverri could play against City in the Champions League and find himself in a position where he could deal damage to his parent club.
READ MORE: Manchester City’s transfer plans revealed with Hugo Viana having a ‘fair bit to do’ before deadline day
Loan deals that haunted their parent clubs in the Champions League
There have been quite a few loan deals in the past that ended up hurting the parent clubs in the Champions League.
For instance, Fernando Morientes scored twice to help Monaco eliminate parent club Real Madrid in their two-legged Champions League quarter-final tie in 2003/04.
Meanwhile, Thibaut Courtois started both legs of the 2013/14 semi-final against parent club Chelsea, recording a clean sheet in the first meeting, as Atletico knocked the Blues out.
To make things worse for Chelsea, UEFA rejected their demand for a £2.5million fee for Courtois to face them and declared any such clause “null, void and unenforceable”.
Kingsley Coman is another such player, haunting Juventus by scoring and assisting against them in the 2015/16 Champions League, while on loan at Bayern Munich.
Finally, Philippe Coutinho scored twice and created another off the bench as Bayern hammered his parent club Barcelona 8-2 in the 2019/20 Champions League campaign.