Barcelona target chooses Real Madrid: Left-footed talent to prioritise offers from Spanish champions | OneFootball

Real Madrid are in pole position to sign 16-year-old River Plate talent Franco Mastantuono. The teenage sensation had reportedly expressed an interest in playing for Barcelona, and the Blaugrana took interest in him too, but after a conversation with Head Scout Juni Calafat, will prioritise offers from Los Blancos.

Mastantuono is already impressing for River’s first team, and Barcelona were hot on the scene, as were Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, according to various reports. However after Real Madrid opened contacts with both River and Mastantuono, it looks as if they may beat them to it.

He recently signed a new contract until the end of 2026, with a €45m release clause, which rises by €5m in the final 10 days of the transfer window. It has been said that Real Madrid want to negotiate a lower price. They will try to negotiate a deal that involves a chunk of the money being paid, and the rest being made up in variables. Relevo say their plan is to keep him in Argentina until he turns 18 before a move to Europe, as they have done so with Endrick Felipe in Brazil, who will arrive this summer for €40m plus €20m in variables from Palmeiras.

Mastantuono is simply the latest illustration of Real Madrid’s transfer strategy adopted in the past seven years, where they have moved for the best young talents, particularly in Latin America, rather than try to compete in the market for the world’s biggest stars, with the notable exception of Kylian Mbappe, although he is set to arrive on a free.