Hectic hours are those surrounding the environment of
Franco Mastantuono ,
River
's 16-year-old jewel
.
He set off the alarm during the tough defeat in the friendly against
Independiente Rivadavia
when he left the field with
muscle discomfort
.
And if anything else was missing, rumors are reviving from Europe that link him to an alleged specific interest on the part of
Real Madrid
to try to convince him to wear white in a long-term project.
If there is something that until now characterizes Mastantuono's beginnings as a professional footballer, it is
precocity
:
he is the youngest player to win a title with Millonario and one of the youngest to score his first goal for the club
.
That is why he worried everyone when the doctors began to treat him on the substitute bench.
Fortunately for him, an encouraging panorama is what Martín Demichelis and company ended up receiving: a
slight strain in the left rectus femoris
, which will require a
recovery of no more than 15 days
.
All signs
point to him appearing again for River's Copa Libertadores debut
, against
Deportivo Táchira
in Venezuela, on April 2.
But just as the waters calmed down in River regarding the youth's physical condition,
a rebound effect was generated from Europe that has not let the Millionaire sleep peacefully
for a few days.
It is that
the sports management of Real Madrid begins to get into the scene of a
new
seduction operation
to keep another promise that bursts onto the football radar and aspires to attract the attention of the greatest of the Old Continent.
Photo: REUTERS/Cristina Sille.
In the midst of the growing phenomenon of Argentine talents being exported to Europe at a young age, while the team from the Spanish capital awaits the arrival of the Brazilian youth player
Endrick
from Palmeiras in the middle of the year,
they would now have put Mastantuono as a priority for 2026
.
The thing is that the boy could only disembark in Madrid when he becomes of age.
Vinicius Junior
and
Rodrygo
are current cases that demonstrate Real Madrid's work plan:
ensuring the hiring of youth stars under 18 years of age
to exploit their potential to the maximum and perfect their playing style according to their needs.
The effectiveness of such a system led Manchester City to copy it with
Claudio
Diablito
Echeverri
, as did Barcelona with the Brazilian
Vitor Roque
.
Under this line of work, Merengue would already be getting to work with the polls towards the Millionaire player of the
2007 category
,
whose birthday is on August 14
.
According to the Spanish newspaper
Marca
, in recent weeks
, some leaders have traveled to Brazil to talk with Endrick.
In that sense, it seems that they took advantage of their stay on the continent to set foot on Argentine soil
and closely follow the player they point to as a priority for the future.
Franco Mastantuono and his renewal as a professional footballer for River.
Given the emergence of these rumors
, River's actions
in the last week are no coincidence:
he moved quickly and updated his promise's contract until 2026
- when he turns 18 - to add a
termination clause of 45 million euros
.
In case there were any doubts about this, Núñez made it clear that they do not want to have anything to do with opening negotiations for their player who has only played nine games in the First Division so far.
For now, everything indicates that Real Madrid is seeking to position itself first in what they believe will be a long dispute between several European suitors.
They trust their eye to detect promise.
And the sooner you proceed, you will completely reduce the risk of potential future regrets.
Who was the last Argentine that you gave up on signing?
Julian Alvarez
.
The market for the world champion, who brings good memories to the white capital, has never looked better for Madrid.