Argentina Fearing the Worst for Mastantuono as Real Madrid Starlet Fades Into Background
Franco Mastantuono has played just 13 minutes across Real Madrid's last four matches, and back in Argentina, the alarm bells are ringing loudly.
Franco Mastantuono’s honeymoon period at Real Madrid appears to be well and truly over — and in Argentina, they’re not taking it well.
From starter to spectator
When Álvaro Arbeloa first handed Mastantuono the keys, the Argentine teenager looked right at home. In the first six matches under the Castilla boss, he started five of them, chipped in with a goal, and was regularly clocking 70-plus minutes. Looked settled. Looked like he belonged.
Then something shifted around the Rayo Vallecano fixture, and it’s been a slow fade ever since.
- Came on in the 82nd minute against Valencia
- Zero minutes vs Real Sociedad
- Zero minutes vs Benfica (Champions League)
- Zero minutes vs Osasuna
That’s 13 minutes across the last four games. Thirteen. For a lad who was meant to be one of the most exciting young players on the planet when Real Madrid signed him from River Plate, that’s a proper worrying run of form — or rather, a worrying run of not being trusted with any form at all.
The timing couldn’t be worse
Here’s what makes it really uncomfortable: Argentina have got the Finalissima against Spain on 27 March, and then the World Cup in the United States comes round in June. These are massive windows for a young player to stake his claim on the international stage — but you can’t exactly force your way into Lionel Scaloni’s plans if you’re not getting minutes at club level.
Back home, the Argentine football world is watching with a furrowed brow, and the takes are getting spicy.
Argentine legend doesn’t mince his words
River Plate icon Norberto Alonso — 73 years old and clearly not here for sugarcoating — went on a YouTube chat and let rip. His verdict on Mastantuono’s situation at Real Madrid?
“Lo están matando… ese chico va a terminar en un equipo de más abajo.”
Essentially: they’re killing him, and he reckons the kid will end up dropping down a level before he can prove himself worthy of the Bernabéu. Harsh? Maybe. But when a bloke who’s seen it all at River is saying it out loud, you’d be daft to completely dismiss it.
What happens next?
The uncomfortable truth is that Real Madrid Castilla is a brutal environment for any teenager, no matter how much hype surrounds them. The drop from River Plate’s first team — where Mastantuono was genuinely starring — to sitting on a Castilla bench is a culture shock few people talk about.
A loan move at some point wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world. Get him playing regularly, get his confidence back up, and revisit the situation. It wouldn’t be the first time a Madrid youngster needed a detour before making it to the top table.
For now though, he’s watching from the dugout — and the clock is ticking.