This year, Franco Mastantuono became one of the most expensive Argentine players of all time after his transfer from River Plate to Real Madrid. Now the Spanish side, along with Barcelona, are reportedly eyeing other young talents from the South American nation.
“Real Madrid have added River Plate’s 22-year-old center-back Lautaro Rivero to their shortlist,” transfer reporter Ekrem Konur revealed on his official X account. “Atletico Madrid and Tottenham are also in the race.”
Rivero has delivered strong performances this year with River, earning a spot in the starting lineup despite his age and even receiving a call-up from Lionel Scaloni to the Argentina national team during the October international break. There, he made his debut in a friendly against Puerto Rico.
His traits and position on the field make him an appealing option for Real Madrid, especially given the uncertainty surrounding the future of several of the club’s defenders. “Rivero is seen as a long-term option after Alaba and Rudiger,” Konur added.
Lautaro Rivero playing for Argentina.
Right now, Real Madrid are going through a difficult stretch with their center backs: in their recent UEFA Champions League match against Olympiacos, coach Xabi Alonso had to improvise with Alvaro Carreras alongside Raul Asencio due to injuries to Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba, Eder Militao, and Dean Huijsen.
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Barcelona are also reportedly tracking a young Argentine
FC Barcelona have a long tradition of feeding their first team with players developed at La Masia, the club’s academy structure. Thanks to that system, stars such as Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Carles Puyol, Gavi, and Lamine Yamal emerged.
However, the Blaugrana also make strong bets on young talents from other clubs when the opportunity arises. Pedri, for example, was signed by Barcelona at just 17 years old with only a handful of matches for Las Palmas. Now they appear to be considering a similar move.
“Barcelona have reportedly set their sights on a 17-year-old Argentine forward: Thomas de Martis,” reported Sport, citing journalist Albert Fernandez of Gol Television. He is a player from Lanus, already with two professional appearances between the Argentine league and the Copa Sudamericana.
De Martis was also part of the Argentina U-17 national team that competed at continental and global levels. In the South American Championship, he scored 6 goals in 6 matches, while at the 2025 World Cup in Qatar he recorded one assist in 4 games, before Argentina were eliminated in the round of 32.
