Real Madrid spent a whopping total cost of about 60-65 million euros in order to sign Franco Mastantuono from Argentinian giants River Plate last summer transfer window at the behest of Juni Calafat and Xabi Alonso, who even chose the teenage sensation over his star from Bayer Leverkusen Florian Wirtz.
Now, Wirtz himself has not done a whole lot at Liverpool this season, and Mastantuono was always one for the future and not the present. But even so, Mastantuono has looked like a bit of a disappointment, even reportedly causing president Florentino Perez to call Calafat's recent judgment of signings into question. And Madridistas were not happy to see how Alonso chose Mastantuono over Endrick on the right wing.
Mastantuono can still be great, but he obviously needs a few years out on loan to improve and get experience before he can be a first team Real Madrid player. He has looked terrible on the wing, and his playmaking qualities just aren't there to be a starting 10 over the other players in Madrid. His attitude and lack of defensive work rate have also rubbed people the wrong way.
Mastantuono at the World Cup?
Despite his lack of being an important player to Real Madrid and fading influence under Alvaro Arbeloa, Franco Mastantuono actually has a chance of making it to the Argentina squad for the 2026 World Cup this summer. He joined an actual young star midfielder, Nico Paz, on the preliminary list for the World Cup squad and could be one of the players ultimately chosen from that list.
Now, that does not mean Mastantuono will get it, but he is in consideration, which is more than what even many Real Madrid fans think he has merited. It would be wild for a player with waning importance, gross inconsistency, and an inability to stand out in big games to make the squad of the reigning World Cup winners.
But that also speaks to how highly people still think of Mastantuono in his home country that he is still on the short list for the World Cup despite a rough first season. That might actually then be a source of strength and optimism for both Mastantuono and Real Madrid, and you only have to look at the fiilm he produced at River Plate to see the glimpses of that special player that Juni Calafat and Xabi Alonso fell in love with last summer transfer window.
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