The Franco Mastantuono era at Real Madrid will soon be underway.
According to beIN Sports, Mastantuono is set to be unveiled as a Real Madrid player on Thursday, as one of South American’s rising talents begins his maiden venture to Europe on his 18th birthday. He will don the No. 25 shirt this season, one that has been worn by the likes of Eduardo Camavinga, Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior, Thibaut Courtois and Iker Casillas in previous years.
Naturally, the soon-to-be 18-year-old winger has drawn comparisons to another attack-minded player who not only is around the same age, but also plays the same position for Real Madrid’s biggest rival. That player is FC Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.
An instrumental figure at Mastantuono’s former club, River Plate, begs to differ.
Gabriel Orlando Rodríguez, the club’s youth director, believes such a comparison to be inaccurate. Rather, he believes Mastantuono’s game translates better to that of two other South American players.
“They [Mastantuono and Yamal] are the same age, but I see a style much more similar to James Rodríguez or Marcelo Gallardo, although the current River coach was right-footed,” Rodríguez said in an interview with Spanish outlet Diario AS. “He is not as explosive as Lamine Yamal. He is a footballer who thinks, observes the field, his teammates and analyses the options that the game offers him. He is very intelligent and has the ability to make the team improve. He is the ideal place to take advantage of his dribbling, his passing, his vision of the game and his magnificent left foot.”
Mastantuono is set to be a key contributor to Real Madrid’s first team in manager Xabi Alonso’s debut season at the helm. Mastantuono signed a six-year contract with Los Blancos on June 13 after the club triggered the €45 million ($52.5 million) release clause in his previous contract with River Plate. It represented a record outgoing transfer fee for a player affiliated with the Argentinian club.
