MAXI J1807+132 is an X-ray transient discovered during the decay of an outburst in 2017 .
We present optical and X-ray monitoring of the source over more than 125 days , from outburst to quiescence .
The outburst decay is characterized by the presence of several re-flares with a quasi-periodic recurrence time of \sim 6.5 days .
We detect broad H and He emission lines during outburst , characteristic of transient low mass X-ray binaries .
These emission lines show strong variability from epoch to epoch and , in particular , during the early stages are found embedded into deep and very broad absorption features .
The quiescent spectrum shows H \alpha in emission and no obvious signatures of the donor star . XMM-Newton and Swift spectra can be fitted with standard X-ray models for accreting black-holes and neutron stars , although the obtained spectral parameters favour the latter scenario .
Conversely , other observables such as the optical/X-ray flux ratio , the likely systemic velocity ( \gamma \sim - 150 km s ^ { -1 } ) and the re-flares recurrence time suggest a black hole nature .
We discuss all the above possibilities with emphasis on the strong similarities of MAXI J1807+132 with short orbital period systems .