Santiago Solari is reportedly working on the deal to bring 16-year-old South American prodigy Franco Mastantuono to Real Madrid for €25 million.
According to a report by Spanish outlet AS, Franco Mastantuono is the subject of interest from Real Madrid. The reigning La Liga champions have deployed Santiago Solari to seal the deal for the South American prodigy and land him for around €25 million. In addition, they are open to utilising the “Endrick formula” to complete the move for the River Plate wonderkid.
The rapid rise of Franco Mastantuono
Franco Mastantuono is probably the best Argentine prodigy to rise in prominence in his homeland since Lionel Messi. While Messi made his mark in Spain during his youth career, Mastantuono has gone from strength to strength at River Plate and is already a regular for the first team.
In January 2024, the 16-year-old became the third-youngest player to feature in an official game for River Plate. Mastantuono has turned out 21 times thus far for River Plate in the 2024 season while chipping in with three goals and one assist, one of which was an incredible free-kick that earned the fabled Argentine club a 1-0 win over Club Atletico Sarmiento.
Meanwhile, Franco Mastantuono’s progress has not gone unnoticed, capturing the attention of several high-profile clubs across Europe. However, the South American prodigy is keen on joining Real Madrid after he leaves River Plate, with the Merengues the front-runners to secure his services.
Madrid beckoning?
Real Madrid’s interest in Franco Mastantuono is hardly surprising. The reigning La Liga champions constantly scour the market for the most highly-rated young prospects across the world, with the output allowing them to ensure smooth transitions from one generation to the next.
In addition, world-class players like Vinicius Junior, Federico Valverde, and Eduardo Camavinga have established themselves as pivotal figures for Real Madrid. Mastantuono might be the next promising wonderkid to arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Santiago Solari working on a deal worth €25 million to secure his services.
The reigning La Liga champions are open to using the “Endrick formula” to land Mastantuono and will happily loan him back to River Plate. It will be interesting to see if Solari can seal a deal worth €25 million to sign the 16-year-old Argentine whizkid instead of meeting his release clause of €45 million.
