Franco Mastantuono
Personal information
Date of birth (2007-08-14) 14 August 2007
Place of birth Azul, Buenos Aires, Argentina[1]
Position(s) Midfielder, forward
Team information
Current team
 River Plate
Youth career
2011–2018 River de Azul
2018–2019 Club Cemento
2019– River Plate
International career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Argentina U17
2022– Argentina U20

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

Early life

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.[2]

Club career

He began his footballing career at the age of three, playing for River de Azul, where his father was the coach.[3] 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.[2][3] Instead, he signed for Club Cemento at the age of eleven.[3]

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.[3] The following year, he was registered for AFA competitions, but his season was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina.[4]

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.[5] The following month, he was called up to first-team training by manager Martín Demichelis for the first time.[6]

International career

Mastantuono was first called up to the Argentine under-17 squad by manager Pablo Aimar while still only fifteen.[7] 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.[8]

Style of play

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.[3] 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.[3] 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.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Sagarzazu, Rubén. "Mastantuono: "La unión grupal es fundamental para el equipo"" [Mastantuono: "Group unity is essential for the team"]. cariverplate.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 Blotto, Martín (20 June 2023). "La historia de Franco Mastantuono, la otra joyita de la cantera de River" [The story of Franco Mastantuono, the other gem of the River quarry]. ole.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gagliardi, Juan Franco (23 August 2023). "Quién es Franco Mastantuono, la joya que River Plate blindó por una millonaria cifra y está en la mira de Demichelis y Mascherano" [Who is Franco Mastantuono, the jewel that River Plate protected for a millionaire figure and is in the sights of Demichelis and Mascherano]. infobae.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  4. ↑ Kunz, Ubaldo (23 August 2023). "La increíble historia de Franco Mastantuono: la joya de River que casi deja el fútbol por el tenis" [The incredible story of Franco Mastantuono: the jewel of River who almost left football for tennis]. lapaginamillonaria.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "Franco Mastantuono: la nueva joya de River que firmó su primer contrato y fue blindado con una cláusula de 30 millones de euros" [Franco Mastantuono: River's new jewel who signed his first contract and was protected with a clause of 30 million euros]. lanacion.com.ar (in Spanish). 23 August 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Kunz, Ubaldo (29 September 2023). "No lo tenía nadie: Mastantuono entrenó con la Primera de River" [No one had it: Mastantuono trained with River's Primera]. lapaginamillonaria.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  7. ↑ Casazza, Gabriel (21 February 2023). "¿Quién es Franco Mastantuono, la joya que ilusiona a todos los hinchas de River?" [Who is Franco Mastantuono, the jewel that excites all River fans?]. bolavip.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Gagliardi, Juan Franco (7 September 2022). "Tiene 15 años, es una de las joyas de River Plate y Javier Mascherano lo convocó a la Selección Sub 20" [He is 15 years old, he is one of the jewels of River Plate and Javier Mascherano called him up to the Under 20 National Team]. mundoalbiceleste. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
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