Rejects Guardiola to Join Real Madrid: Says No to City, Waits a Year for Florentino

The white club, with the league already won and aiming for another European final, continues to plan its future.

Franco Mastantuono’s future remains uncertain. The player, monitored by Madrid for months, wishes to join the Bernabéu, although River has surprised with the release clause of the young talent.

Real Madrid continues working tirelessly in the offices to plan what will be the club’s most promising future in many years. Over the past seasons, Madrid has secured promises before their peak, and it’s the same plan Florentino Pérez has to address any small deficiencies in Carlo Ancelotti’s current squad.

For months, Real Madrid has been closely monitoring Argentina. There, Franco Mastantuono plays, the midfielder from River Plate who, despite being 16 years old, has already played 11 games with the first team of ‘El Millonario’, scoring two goals.

The young Argentine is already being followed by various European clubs, with Real Madrid and Manchester City standing out. However, the player’s desire is to wear the merengue jersey. The intention of the player is mutual at Madrid, where they are determined to fight for his signing. At the club, they maintain that Mastantuono’s profile is very similar to that of Fede Valverde, who arrived in Spain in 2018 from Peñarol.

Mastantuono’s release clause is the main obstacle for Real Madrid, which is not willing to pay the €45 million demanded from Argentina. After Claudio Echeverri’s signing by City, River Plate is aware of the potential of many of its players to fit in Europe, and therefore, they don’t want to let Franco go for such an affordable amount.

Madrid, which has been tracking Mastantuono for a long time, will try to negotiate with River Plate, trying to lower the amount they now demand, being open to the possibility that he continues at the Argentine club until the 2025/2026 season. However, the midfielder has an Italian passport, so he is European, and Madrid does not have to wait for him to come of age to sign him.