Franco Mastantuono is now a Real Madrid player, pending official confirmation. When the Whites want something, they go for it, and that’s what they’ve done with the young Argentine player. The club, through Solari, had been following the Argentine midfielder for some time, but as soon as PSG entered the scene, the Whites brought out the big guns and traveled across the pond to speed up negotiations with the player and River Plate, a deal that has now come to fruition.
An express agreement
The player’s signing was negotiated in just a week, given Real Madrid’s urgency to secure him in the face of competition from Luis Enrique’s team. The player will sign a six-year contract with Real Madrid, until 2031. The deal has been closed at around €46-50 million. The Whites will pay around €40 million (US$45 million, the amount of his release clause) in installments, and Real Madrid will also have to pay 13% of the taxes generated by the deal for the Argentine team.
The arrival date
With his signing complete pending official confirmation, one of the most speculated topics has been his date of arrival at Real Madrid. There was talk of the possibility of him playing in the World Cup already in white, arriving in August or even waiting until December. The reality is that the plan is for Franco Mastantuono to play in the Club World Cup with River Plate, unless Real Madrid decides to change its mind in the next 24 hours, as Fabrizio Romano pointed out.
Franco Mastantuono will play in the Club World Cup with River Plate and could even play with them in the Copa Libertadores RO16 on August 14 and then fly to Madrid on August 15. Real Madrid could have opted to sign the player now, but River asked to keep him for the Club World Cup, and Real Madrid agreed, due to the good relationship between the clubs.
An ironclad contract
At just 17 years old and with boundless talent, Real Madrid wanted to ensure that no one could come and snatch him away by signing the player. Thus, the newspaper ‘Olé’ reports that the white team will include a €1 billion anti-sheikh release clause for Franco Mastantuono. Ariel Cristófalo reports that with this release clause, Mastantuono would become “the Argentine footballer with the highest buyout clause of all time.” He would even surpass idol Messi, who once had a clause worth €300 million.
Scaloni endorses the signing
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about the signing on Monday at a press conference ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifier against Colombia. He was clear about Franco Mastantuono’s move to Real Madrid: “Going to Real Madrid is a huge thing. We’re talking about the best club in the world or one of the best. It’s a huge step for him and, of course, he’s still only 17. We’ve spoken to him over the last few days. With that desire, that mindset and that eagerness to learn, he’s bound to do well. We need everyone around him to realize that he’s a 17-year-old boy. We all have to help him to become even better.”
“I’ll be happy if it happens, because it means that the big clubs are watching Argentine soccer. Hopefully it will be the beginning of many more, although years ago Saviola, Riquelme, and Aimar left for the big clubs. Obviously, losing them is not good, but it’s really good to see them on the weekends at the best clubs in the world,” added Scaloni.