Real Madrid signed Franco Mastantuono from River Plate in the summer of 2025, around the time of the first Club World Cup in history.
Fans were excited, and the prospects of what he could become in the future were also quite positive, and even though the price tag was a bit heavy, you could tell the player had a lot of talent in him to justify it.
However, it has just not worked out for Mastantuono since. He kept getting injured, he kept playing worse, became very erratic, and even though no one is doubting his ability for the future, everyone has doubts on what he can achieve in this current stage.
And that is probably why Lionel Scaloni, the manager of Argentina's National Team, has not picked Mastantuono in his squad for the World Cup. Obviously, the coach wouldn't pick his team based on the ceiling of these players, but it would rather be based on what they are now.
Franco Mastantuono's pain is a better Real Madrid player's gain
Mastantuono, simply put, is not good enough right now. And Nico Paz is, so he has been included in the squad for the World Cup. Paz was going to make the squad either way, but given that they play in similar positions, it was probably always going to be either Paz or Mastantuono.
Paz has been on an exceptional run with Como in the last two years, and has solidified his status as one of the very best players in Serie A at just 21 years old. Mastantuono, a bit younger, is playing for a much bigger team, but has not been able to take opportunities the way Paz did, although of course it is a different environment altogether.
It is not like Mastantuono's not providing anything to the team whenever he plays. His link-up play was good, and even though his control and his touches were not quite there yet - especially not when compared to his time at River Plate - it was still good to see that he was working hard and had some talent in him.
However, it makes total sense for Mastantuono to stay home for this one. There will be more tournaments in the future, and he could still make the squad for those if he lives up to his potential, but he would have to do it the hard way, by leaving Real Madrid - similar to how Nico Paz did it with Como.
It is a tough watch, seeing what Real Madrid could have had with Nico Paz for a much lower price, and still choosing to spend a fortune on getting a very raw version of Mastantuono who is not good enough at the moment, but perhaps it was much better for Paz that it worked out this way, as he was able to develop into a full-fledged footballing star, which he would not have done at Real Madrid.
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