The first to publicly call it out was Miguel Galán, president of CENAFE, who posted on X that Madrid had committed an ineligible lineup. In his view, the club acted with “manifest bad faith” by registering the Argentine with a B team number in order to bypass the first-team squad number restrictions.

His 28-minute cameo impressed fans, and Mastantuono made history by playing his first game at Real Madrid in La Liga. Mister Chip from ESPN Deportes reports that Mastantuono became the third youngest foreign player to make his La Liga debut with Real Madrid.

Their signing of the Argentina international was a long time in the making, and many other clubs were interested too

MADRID — Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso has praised the maturity of teenager newcomer Franco Mastantuono and downplayed the player's choice of former Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi as the world's best player.

Real Madrid are gearing up for the first match of their 2025–26 La Liga campaign. Expectations are high under Xabi Alonso, especially with new signings Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras all expected to get the nod at the Santiago Bernabéu in Tuesday’s clash.

Franco Mastantuono officially began his Real Madrid journey on August 14, his 18th birthday. Presented by Florentino Pérez at Valdebebas, the Argentine midfielder quickly joined training under Xabi Alonso.

En su presentación como jugador del Real Madrid, el juvenil delantero argentino Franco Mastantuono alabó el jueves la figura de Lionel Messi, ex del

Real Madrid could face questions if Franco Mastantuono, their new €60m signing from River Plate, plays against Osasuna. The 18-year-old Argentine was officially presented as a first-team player