He may be only 18 years old and Real Madrid’s new superstar, but Franco Mastantuono’s path could have easily taken him on a different route than football.
The youngster once dreamed of becoming a YouTube star, while he was also a young maestro on the tennis court, travelling around Argentina to play matches.
What diverted him? He was just too good with the ball at his feet.
River Plate received 45m euros (£38.5m) for the attacking midfielder when he joined Real Madrid last month.
However, the Argentine giants say Real’s expenditure on Mastantuono – including taxes and payments elsewhere – totals 63.2m euros (£54m) in a record sale for the South American country’s first division.
After the deal was announced in June, he officially made the switch to La Liga after turning 18 in August.
“Any player in the world dreams of playing for River Plate and Real Madrid,” he told DAZN during his final swansong with River at the Club World Cup.
And despite joining a squad packed with high-profile talent, Mastantuono is already becoming a key figure in Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid side.
The road to Madrid
The teenager, with three senior caps for Argentina, has already made an impression in his native land.
“Franco’s passage through our club left an indelible mark.” Roberto Binzuna, the president of Cemento Armado, where Mastantuono earned his stripes before joining River, tells BBC Sport.
“Only time will decide how long it lives on in our memory.
“He’s a sensational young man, with outstanding human and sporting characteristics, distinctive in whatever sport he played – an exceptional tennis player and an even better footballer.
“His presence always stands out over the other players, even the older ones, and he has an incredible shot on him.”
Indeed, Mastantuono’s ability to strike the ball from range has caught the eye. Most notable was his free-kick against Superclasico rivals Boca Juniors in April, swept into the top corner from about 30 yards.
That aside, the left-footer is agile, quickly shifting the ball one way and the other when dribbling. Such has been evident from the start.
“I remember he was restless behind the ball. But what I saw set him apart,” says Marcelo Olariaga, the vice president of Club Atletico River Plate Azuleno, Mastantuono’s first home.
“Compared to the rest, he ran very lightly with the ball. But he always had it tied to his feet.”
Although the teenager often starts on the right wing, much of his impact comes in central positions.
In River’s first Club World Cup outing this summer, a 3-1 win against Urawa Red Diamonds, Mastantuono roamed inside and bent a pass to the left, eventually leading to Facundo Colidio’s opening goal.
As for the statistics, Mastantuono has featured 64 times for River, scoring 10 goals and assisting seven. At 16, he was the youngest to score for the Argentine giants with the famous red sash.
Mastantuono was born in Azul, a small city south of the bustling capital, Buenos Aires. He grew up in a normal area, with low houses and a square, where he enjoyed kickarounds.
“I remember Franquito as a young boy. His coach was his father, Cristian, and he went along with him,” Olariaga says.
“He developed in the system with the luck of having his dad as a coach. A good cohort of players came through.”
Still, had football not taken over, he might have prioritised tennis – with those close to him aware of his skills while holding a racquet. The sport has helped shape Mastantuono’s overall game.
“Through tennis, I’ve met a lot of people. Travelling around the country and competing in a sport where the mental aspect is so important has helped me grow as a footballer,” Mastantuono said during an interview with Argentine outlet Olé in March.
That mental fortitude helped him deal with the pressure of River’s 85,000-plus seater Estadio Monumental, where the fans will miss his magic.
He is, of course, not the only talent to roll off the River Plate conveyor belt. Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez, Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez, Manchester City’s Claudio Echeverri, and Manuel Lanzini, formerly of West Ham, matured at the Buenos Aires club.
Olariaga believes that Mastantuono is at least on a par with those individuals, with much owed to his mentality – a cornerstone for every Real player – alongside his technique.
“Franco wasn’t always a leader,” says Olariaga. “He was a great team-mate. All the boys who played with him tell you he impacted them through his personality because he encouraged them. He always took the team on his shoulders in the difficult moments.
‘There’s a risk with everything’
If there was going to be a barrier, it’s that Real coach Xabi Alonso – not afraid to blood youth players – has a wealth of options in attack, and instead needs deeper-lying midfielders to replace Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.
It was, however, Alonso who helped convince Mastantuono to choose Real over other top European clubs.
“The way he spoke to me was incredible,” said the teenager. “I’m incredibly grateful for that. The conversation was very influential because having the manager want you is a significant vote of confidence for a player.
“Leaving a club like River Plate isn’t easy. His words really motivated me to make that leap. What’s happening to me is unique and I’m very grateful for football and for life.”
Mastantuono is competing against the likes of Rodrygo, Arda Guler and Brahim Díaz for minutes. But given he’s still to turn 18, he has time to improve.
“His areas for improvement will probably be physical – to gain weight and strength – and his understanding of pressing without the ball, as the top-tier European teams do,” argues Tom Nash, co-host of the River Pod podcast.
Evaluating the deal, Eduardo Ferreira, a football agent with experience in the European and South American markets, says: “There’s a risk with everything.
“The player possesses a talent level, already demonstrated on the pitch, that is above average for players his age, so they will prepare and keep developing him in a much better environment.
“Real Madrid has a methodology for developing talent to minimise risks and has a proven record, done over and over again.”
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- European Football
- Real Madrid
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