Barcelona have decided to pull out of the race to sign River Plate talent Franco Mastantuono, who continues to impress in Argentina. The 16-year-old has caught the attention of Europe’s elite and has a release clause of €45m, which rises to €50m in the final 10 days of the transfers window.
The Blaugrana had been tracking Mastantuono, and he was reportedly keen on signing for them, but the finances meant that they would have had to delay any signing until next season. It does not look as if the talks will wait, and as a result, Marca say that Barcelona have decided to pull out of the race to sign him.
Real Madrid are the reason – Los Blancos are aware of the significant interest in the teenage playmaker, and have begun moving for Mastantuono in order to get ahead of the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea. As reported earlier this week, General Manager Jose Angel Sanchez has made contact with River, and Head Scout Juni Calafat has spoken with Mastantuono.
The contacts between the three parties are frequent at this point, and Real Madrid’s plan is to seal the signing and bring him to Europe once he has turned 18. However they are not looking to activate his release clause, which they believe is inflated, and will try to bargain the price down. After selling Claudio Echeverri to Manchester City for €30m, River want to break that record with Mastantuono.
Once again it looks as if Real Madrid are set to pip their rivals to the signing of one of South America’s brightest talents. Endrick Felipe, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes and Reinier Jesus form a growing list of teenage signings from Latin America, and their record of developing them so far has been positive.