16-year-old River star 

©TM/IMAGO

Since the 2018/19 season, Real Madrid have paid more money for talents aged 18 or younger than Chelsea, Barcelona, and Red Bull Salzburg, which follow in the ranking on spots two to four. Real paid €216 million for young players and the next diamond in the rough is on the way in the form of Franco Mastantuono from River Plate. The 16-year-old midfielder has been a part of the first team since the start of the year and has been equipped with a new contract that also includes an exit clause. 

The U17 Argentine national team player is under contract until Dec. 31, 2026, at River but can leave the club for €45m. A fee in that range would make him the most expensive player aged 17 or younger in history. According to various media reports, the fee can grow to €50m in the final ten days of the transfer window. But according to a report by Marca, that won’t be the case as Real are unwilling to trigger the exit clause. The club has previously paid €45m for then teenagers Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo. 

Both clubs have already met to discuss a transfer of the attacking midfielder. Although Mastantuono is still under 18, he is free to move to Europe as he holds both an Argentine and an Italian passport. The Italian passport is also adventitious as LaLiga restricts spots for non-EU foreigners. That doesn’t mean Mastantuono will move right away to Spain. One scenario suggests that River would lower the transfer fee but keep the player until 2025. 

Mastantuono becomes the latest top transfer from the River Academy

River has agreed to such a deal in the past. Earlier this year the Argentine giants transferred academy product Claudio Echeverri for €18.5m to Man City. But Los Millonarios were able to negotiate a loan back until the end of the 2024 season. Mastantuono could now become the latest talent to be sold and kept on loan. Selling top talent to Europe has been a good business for River. Over the last five years, the Argentine top club sold Exequiel Palacios (Leverkusen), Julián Álvarez (Man City), Enzo Fernández (Benfica) and Echeverri for around €102m to Europe. 

What sort of player is Mastantuono? “He didn’t play much yet which is logical considering he’s just 16 years old,” Transfermarkt Area Manager South America Scott Christensen said. “But from what he’s shown so far I have been surprised by his personality at a young age. He is an offensive midfielder and is not afraid of asking for the ball at every moment, he moves quite a lot around the pitch and is looking for spaces and is a typical playmaker.” 

In other words, Real Madrid are on the verge of signing yet another top talent. Since 2018, Real have signed the likes of Vinicius Junior (Flamengo), Rodrygo (Santos), Eduardo Camavinga (Stade Rennais) and Arda Güler (Fenerbahce). While it is still too early to determine Güler’s impact, the other three names have been fantastic signings for the club. The only player that hasn’t worked out is Reinier. Signed for €30m from Flamengo, the Brazilian hasn’t been able to show his talent at Real and is currently on loan at Frosinone. The €216m that Real have invested in U18 players since 2018 also includes the transfer fee for strikerEndrick (Palmeiras). Endrick will join the club on his 18^th birthday on July 21, 2024.