The future of Franco Mastantuono looks very bright, as he is a talented midfielder capable of creating goal-scoring chances with ease. That is at least what Real Madrid saw in him when they signed him for 63 million euros last year.
His first full year with the club has not been what was expected, with the player even missing the World Cup after mostly serving as a backup. This led River Plate to start talking with people around the player to see whether a loan move would be possible, according to ESPN Argentina.
There is no doubt that Real Madrid could look very different next season after two years without trophies. Their plan is to loan him out so he can get more minutes, albeit they would prefer to send him to a La Liga club, according to Diario AS.
La Liga regulation
The extra advantage of signing the player from River Plate when he was just 17 was that Real Madrid could register him as a Castilla player, their youth team that competes in lower divisions than the first team.
That helped then manager Xabi Alonso keep one of the 25 available senior squad spots open in case the club wanted to add more players, but that is no longer the case because of the minutes Mastantuono has played with the first team.
see also
Argentina 2026 World Cup roster: Scaloni finalizing 26-man squad with Real Madrid’s Mastantuono reportedly ruled out
As the Argentine has passed the 30% mark of matches played for Real Madrid, he is no longer eligible to be registered with Castilla, details Juan Castro. This puts more pressure on whether he stays with the first team or goes out on loan.
Mastantuono’s season with Real Madrid
In his first year at Real Madrid, Mastantuono could not show his best version, as he finished with 35 appearances, 1,482 minutes, three goals, and no assists in all competitions for Real Madrid. The left-footed player recorded 23 appearances, 1,036 minutes, one goal, and no assists in La Liga.
Mastantuono made eight appearances in the Champions League, played 292 minutes, and scored one goal. He also featured twice in the Copa del Rey, totaling 143 minutes and one goal, while in the Super Cup he made two appearances and played 11 minutes without registering a goal or assist.
