Real Madrid presented Franco Mastantuono as their new player for the upcoming season. The 18-year-old attacking midfielder received the number 30 jersey and will join the first team.
Mastantuono is one of the bright young talents from South America and is expected to play under Xabi Alonso this season. Although the former River Plate star was eager to start with Los Blancos, he was unable to play for them during the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup because he was not registered for the tournament.
During his presentation, Mastantuono revealed his love for Real Madrid and expressed his excitement to start playing for the club. But one comment has caused a shock among Real Madrid fans, especially when commenting on Lionel Messi at a Real Madrid event.
When asked about former Argentine players at Real Madrid, Mastantuono mentioned players like Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain who shone at the club in recent times, but considered Messi as the greatest player of all time.
Messi played for Real Madrid’s rivals FC Barcelona and created painful memories for Real Madrid fans, which is why Mastantuono’s praise comes as a shock to Real Madrid fans.
Fan Reactions to Mastantuono’s Messi Comment
When Mastantuono gave his opinion on Messi being the best player in the world, he went on to say that the Argentine star was the best player over the last couple of years. Many Real Madrid fans consider arguably their greatest player of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo, to be the greatest player of all time as well.
Franco Mastantuono: “The best player in the world for me is Messi. I’m Argentinian and I think that in these last couple of years, for me, the best player is him.”
Real Madrid fans online spoke about his comment, and some believe the new signing shouldn’t have mentioned Messi during the press conference.
One fan wrote, “Why would he say that?” while another wrote, “Perez ain’t gonna like that, I guess he didn’t read the part that said he was contractually obliged to say Ronaldo is the goat.”
Another fan wrote, “Bin this guy to Castillas.” The ironic part is that Mastantuono is being registered with Real Madrid Castilla, Real Madrid’s reserve team, but will be part of the first team.
La Liga regulations expect clubs to have first-team players wearing numbers 1-25, with Real Madrid reserving a spot in the first team.
