Real Madrid was already cited in the summer as the most likely destination for Riverplaat Starlet Franco Mastantuono, but the interest of Paris Saint-Germain has made some doubt about his future. The 17-year-old Starlet is the apple of many eyes at the highest level of the European game.
River and Real Madrid have strong relationships, and the presence of sports director Santiago Solari, a former river player, has only strengthened those connections. It is believed that he played a key role in their pursuit of Mastantuono, who is said to have corresponded to rough conditions with Los Blancos in the summer. Mastantuono started to take his first steps in the professional game at the age of only 15 and has continued to grow.
Mastantuono has a release clause of € 45 million in his current deal, and so far River has not shown a sign to drop that asking price. However, Real Madrid, such as rivals and colleague -freeders Atletico Madrid, is not willing to pay that price. With 18 months on the deal of Mastantuono, Los Blancos hoped that River would be forced to lower their asking price.
It is believed that PSG, on the other hand, is trying to seduce Mastantuono into a switch to the French capital, and the instrumental part of the case is that they are willing to pay his release clause.
According to El Chiringuito, Real Madrid is aware of the interest and there are action, as quoted by sport. They have sent emissions to Buenos Aires to try and close a deal with Mastantuono. It is not clear whether they are now willing to pay the release clause or to increase their offer – they had previously hoped for a deal around € 30 million. Looking back, Endrick Felipe had a release clause of € 60 million and Los Blancos eventually paid € 40 million for him with € 20 million available in variables.