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Franco Mastantuono

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Franco Mastantuono
Personal information
Date of birth (2007-08-14) 14 August 2007 (age 17)
Place of birth Azul, Buenos Aires, Argentina[1]
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder, forward
Team information
Current team
 River Plate
Number 30
Youth career
2011–2018 River de Azul
2018–2019 Club Cemento
2019–2024 River Plate
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024– River Plate 25 (1)
International career
2023– Argentina U17 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:27, 14 October 2024 (UTC)

Franco Mastantuono (born 14 August 2007) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Argentine Primera División club River Plate.

Early life

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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.[3]

Club career

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Mastantuono began his footballing career at the age of three, playing for River de Azul, where his father was the coach.[4] 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.[3][4] Instead, he signed for Club Cemento at the age of eleven.[4]

Two years later, in 2019, Mastantuono 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.[4] The following year, he was registered for AFA competitions, but his season was disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina.[5]

Mastantuono 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.[6] The following month, he was called up to first-team training by manager Martín Demichelis for the first time.[7]

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.[8] He made his unofficial debut for the club in a friendly match against Mexican opposition Monterrey, before featuring in another friendly against Pachuca.[9] 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.[10]

Mastantuono 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.[11] 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.[12]

International career

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Born in Argentina, Mastantuono is of Italian descent and holds dual Argentine-Italian citizenship.[13] He was first called up to the Argentina national under-17 team squad by manager Pablo Aimar while still only fifteen.[14] His impressive performances with the River Plate youth teams caught the attention of Argentina national under-20 team coach Javier Mascherano, who called him up to train with the team in mid-2022.[15]

Style of play

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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.[4] 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.[4] 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.[4]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 19 October 2024[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
River Plate 2024 Primera División 17 1 1 1 6[b] 1 9[c] 0 33 3
Career total 17 1 1 1 6 1 9 0 33 3
Notes
  1. ^ Includes Copa Argentina
  2. ^ Appearances in Copa Libertadores
  3. ^ Appearances in Copa de la Liga Profesional

Honours

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River Plate

References

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  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. ^ Franco Mastantuono at WorldFootball.net
  3. ^ a b 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 , Is of italian descent.]. ole.com.ar (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Franco Mastantuono, a días de comenzar la pretemporada con el plantel profesional de River" [Franco Mastantuono, days away from starting the preseason with River's professional team]. diarioeltiempo.com.ar (in Spanish). 3 January 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  9. ^ García, Gonzalo (31 January 2024). "Quién es Franco Mastantuono, la nueva joya de River que en la pretemporada y debutó oficialmente ante Argentinos Juniors" [Who is Franco Mastantuono, River's new jewel who made his official debut against Argentinos Juniors in the preseason]. goal.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Mastantuono debutó en River e hizo historia" [Mastantuono debuted in River and made history]. ole.com.ar (in Spanish). 28 January 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  11. ^ Marroquín, Emmanuel R. (8 February 2024). "Gol de Franco Mastantuono lo convierte el jugador de River Plate más joven en anotar" [Franco Mastantuono's goal makes him the youngest River Plate player to score]. tudn.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Sin vueltas: "Mastantuono no está para 90 minutos"" [No twists: "Mastantuono is not there for 90 minutes"]. tntsports.com.ar (in Spanish). 15 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  13. ^ "Chi è Franco Mastantuono: il sedicenne da 45 milioni di euro nel mirino del Real Madrid | Goal.com Italia". www.goal.com. 7 May 2024.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Franco Mastantuono at Soccerway
  17. ^ "River derrotó 2–1 a Estudiantes y es el campeón de la Supercopa Argentina 2023". Asociación del Fútbol Argentino (in Spanish). 12 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
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