Franco Mastantuono prepares for Madrid audition at the Club World Cup
Real Madrid-bound wonderkid Franco Mastantuono could be one of the breakout stars of the 2025 Club World Cup for a River Plate team enjoying his presence while they can.
River Plate have sent more than their fair share of young stars to Europe. Julián Alvarez, Enzo Fernández and Claudio Echeverri have all used the Buenos Aires club as a springboard in recent years and in Franco Mastantuono they have another wonderkid destined for the highest level of the game.
Mastantuono is a 17-year-old winger reportedly on his way to Real Madrid for €45m this summer. Several of Europe’s biggest clubs including Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea were linked with the teenager, but the Santiago Bernabéu will be the perfect stage for one of the brightest attacking talents anywhere in world football right now.
Before pitching up in the Spanish capital, though, Mastantuono will have the opportunity to make an impact for River Plate at the Club World Cup. The Argentine giants are plotting a run at this summer’s tournament in the USA with their teenage prodigy central to their chances. At just 17, Mastantuono might already be River’s best player.
Normally deployed on the right side of a front three, Mastantuono is a one-man creative hub. He can pass and boasts impressive progressive possession numbers. He can also dribble and is ranked in the 94th percentile for carries into the final third per 90 minutes (3.22). The teenager has an all-round game beyond his fledgling years.
In just 19 matches for River Plate this season, Mastantuono has registered seven goals and four assists. The 17-year-old has been likened to Lamine Yamal in the way he cuts inside off the right wing to take on opponents and pose a goal threat. Such comparisons are lofty, but this is a player widely dubbed the “pearl” of Argentinean football.
Mastantuono has already been capped at international level, making his Argentina debut in a 1-0 away win over Chile earlier this month to become the youngest player in Albiceleste history. Argentina are on the brink of a generational transition with the likes of Lionel Messi, Ángel Di María and Nicolas Otamendi well into the twilight of their careers and Mastantuono’s emergence is timely.
Since making his debut as River Plate’s third youngest-ever player in January 2024, there has been hype around Mastantuono. River quickly inserted a €45m release clause in the contract of their brightest young talent and fast-tracked him into the first team. Not even this, however, will be enough to keep Mastantuono at El Monumental beyond his 18th birthday.
Real Madrid’s interest in Mastantuono is long-standing. The Spanish giants attempted to get a deal done for the winger last year just as he was establishing himself in River Plate’s first team. Real Madrid scouts have reportedly watched Mastantuono from the age of 14, believing he could be a big part of the club’s next generation.
Of course, Real Madrid already have a collection of teenage prodigies. They spent €60m to sign Endrick as a 16-year-old with the Brazilian joining the Santiago Bernabéu outfit last year. Arda Güler is another wonderkid currently on the books of Los Blancos with Dean Huijsen recently arriving from Bournemouth as one of the best young defenders in the world.
Before Endrick, Güler and Huijsen, there was Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior who were similarly signed for big money as teenagers in South America. Vinícius’ transfer for €46m in 2017 was the subject of particular scrutiny until the Brazilian flourished into one of the best wide attackers in the world. €46m quickly represented money well spent.
The problem for Mastantuono is that there is such competition for attacking places at the Santiago Bernabéu right now that his development could be stunted there. Yamal burst on to the scene because Barcelona were desperate for a right winger. There was a place in the lineup to be earned. Real Madrid don’t currently have the same issue.
Xabi Alonso will remould the team he inherited from Carlo Ancelotti in his own image with the Club World Cup an opportunity to make a winning start as Real Madrid manager. It could be the case that Alonso already has a plan for Mastantuono’s development although his favoured 3-4-3 system might not be a great fit for the Argentine wonderkid.
River Plate insist Mastantuono will remain at the club for the rest of the 2025 season, but the lure of Real Madrid could prove too strong for that to be the case. This is, after all, a club that paid £10m to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold 30 days early. A strong showing by Mastantuono at the Club World Cup could hasten his arrival in Spain.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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