These are dream days for Franco Mastantuono, the River Plate prodigy who is currently wearing Argentina’s national team colors and exchanging passes with Lionel Messi at the AFA training center in Ezeiza. While he dreams of making his debut in this double round of World Cup Qualifiers against Chile or Colombia, his representatives remain in close contact with people from Real Madrid, who are determined to sign him as soon as possible.
This past Tuesday, another key meeting took place at the Hotel Emperador between the left-footed midfielder’s agents and Real Madrid delegates, including Juni Calafat, the club’s chief scout and the first to flag Mastantuono as a target more than a year ago. At that time, however, Madrid prioritized Turkish talent Arda Güler.
This wasn’t the first contact between the parties. A few weeks ago, discussions were already held in Madrid with Walter Tamer and Augusto Fernández. But in this latest meeting in Buenos Aires, several key points were clarified.
With PSG—fresh off their Champions League triumph—also looking to sign him (Luis Enrique even spoke with the player directly), Real Madrid wants to block any other bids, no matter how attractive, and lock Mastantuono in for next season. What remains to be seen is how the deal will unfold: whether the club will trigger his €45 million release clause, negotiate directly with River Plate to include performance bonuses, or wait to finalize the transfer after the FIFA Club World Cup.
Although River Plate president Jorge Brito maintains a close and friendly relationship with Florentino Pérez, the club knows it can’t compete with such a massive offer—or the 17-year-old’s desire to join Madrid. Still, they will do everything possible to keep him through the end of the current season wearing the red sash across his chest.
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At just 17 years old and with 61 matches under his belt, Mastantuono is set on playing for Real Madrid. In fact, when Olympique de Marseille and Manchester United previously showed interest, the young star made it clear he was waiting for a call from the Santiago Bernabéu. That call has finally come.
