Franco Mastantuono

Franco Mastantuono (born 14 August 2007) is an Argentine footballer currently playing as a midfielder for River Plate.

Born in Azul in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina, Mastantuono also took an interest in tennis as a child, and was a national-level youth player.

He began his footballing career at the age of three, playing for River de Azul, where his father was the coach.

In 2017, while playing for River de Azul, he was invited to trial with professional side River Plate, but despite being offered a place in the academy, he declined, as his family wanted him to continue pursuing a career in tennis.

Instead, he signed for Club Cemento at the age of eleven.

Two years later, in 2019, he decided to take up River Plate's offer, and moved to the Buenos Aires-based club, making his first appearance for the youth side in their last game of the 2019 season, as the youth side won their respective league.

The following year, he was registered for AFA competitions, but his season was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina.

He continued his progression through the River Plate academy, and in August 2023 he signed his first contract with the club - a two year deal with a €30 million release clause.

The following month, he was called up to first-team training by manager Martín Demichelis for the first time.

The following year, Mastantuono was included in River Plate's squad for their pre-season preparations, having been called up alongside a number of other youth team players by coach Martín Demichelis.

He made his unofficial debut for the club in a friendly match against Mexican opposition Monterrey, before featuring in another friendly against Pachuca.

At the end of January 2024, he became River Plate's third youngest ever player in official competitions, behind Omar Rossi and Mateo Musacchio, when he came on as a second-half substitute for Facundo Colidio in River's 1–1 Copa de la Liga Profesional draw with Argentinos Juniors.

He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 Copa Argentina win against Excursionistas on 8 February 2024; having started the game, he volleyed the ball past Excursionistas goalkeeper Nahuel Cajal in the 68th minute.

In doing so, he became River's youngest ever goal-scorer, beating the record held by club icon Javier Saviola.

Having established himself as a fixture in the first-team setup, calls from fans for Mastantuono to play more were ignored by coach Martín Demichelis, with former River Plate defender Reinaldo Merlo stating that, while he had shown his ability, he was not ready to feature regularly.

Mastantuono was first called up to the Argentine under-17 squad by manager Pablo Aimar while still only fifteen.

His impressive performances with the River Plate youth teams caught the attention of Argentine under-20 coach Javier Mascherano, who called him up to train with the team in mid-2022.

A left-footed midfielder, Mastantuono was described by River Plate youth coach Martín Pellegrino as a being capable of playing as an enganche, a play-making midfielder or a forward, noting his ball-striking ability.

River Plate reserve team assistant manager, Pablo Fernández, has also lauded his ball-striking, as well as his ability to score from free-kicks and beat players one-on-one.

Mastantuono himself has stated that he looks up to River Plate forwards Ignacio Fernández and Matías Suárez, as well as fellow Argentine Julián Álvarez, and tries to model his style of play on them.