Last month it emerged that Barcelona were interested in River Plate starlet Franco Mastantuono, and as tends to be the case with these talents these days, Real Madrid are closely trailing him as well. The playmaker is the youngest player to have played in the SuperClasico between Boca Juniors and River, and also became River’s youngest ever scorer recently.
16-year-old River Plate talent Franco Mastantuono became the youngest scorer in their history last week.
He has been linked to #FCBarcelona, but now #RealMadrid are also believed to be interested. (TNT Sports)pic.twitter.com/5GEMjmn6qw
— Football España (@footballespana_) March 13, 2024
According to TNT Sports, as carried by Diario AS, Real Madrid are also interested in Mastantuono, and will consider making an offer for him 2025. That is when he turns 18, and can legally move to Europe, but as Los Blancos have shown with Endrick Felipe, they are not afraid to commit for young talents. Until then though, they are happy to let him continue to develop at River.
🚨 Today there is €15m at stake. The club has budgeted reaching the quarter-finals and it's necessary to achieve it. @ferrancorreas pic.twitter.com/f4BzU8Sp2W
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 12, 2024
Currently he has a contract until 2025, but River are believed to be working on a new deal for Mastantuono. As well as Barcelona, PSG and Manchester United have also been linked to him, and his current release clause is €30m. He looks as if he will be the latest talent to pursued after Manchester City secured deals for Julian Alvarez and Claudio Echeverri.