Pellegrino and Mastantuono bond over legendary Fiorentina icon Batistuta | OneFootball

Mateo Pellegrino reveals he’s already friends with new Fiorentina teammate Franco Mastantuono, and both hope to follow the footsteps of the ‘legendary Gabriel Batistuta.’

The striker completed his transfer from Parma this evening, reportedly for a fixed fee of €24.5m including add-ons.

He turns 25 in October and first came to Serie A from Velez Sarsfield in February 2025, seeing his value sky-rocket thanks to 15 goals and two assists in 52 competitive games for the Ducali.

Pellegrino ‘very proud’ to join Fiorentina

Mateo Pellegrino has joined Fiorentina from Parma (acffiorentina.com)

“I am very happy to come to this club, it makes me very proud,” Pellegrino told the official Fiorentina website.

“I can’t wait to get started, to do my best to help the team. The Viola Park complex is incredible, I’d never seen so much machinery, and I can’t wait to begin.”

There is a definite Argentine flavour developing in Florence this season, as Mastantuono also arrived on loan from Real Madrid.

Official: Franco Mastantuono joins Fiorentina on loan from Real Madrid (via www.acffiorentina.com)

“I spoke already to Franco, who wrote to me as soon as he heard the rumours I could come here,” revealed Pellegrino.

“There have been many Argentines in the history of Fiorentina, of course the first to come to mind is the legendary Batistuta, so we’ll see if I can do even a bit of what he achieved here.”

It was that history with Batigol that helped the centre-forward choose this as his next club.

“It is a club with so much history, where many great players have come through. When they tell you that Fiorentina are interested… of course it makes you happy, that’s why I came here.

“I want to score even more goals and try every day to improve as both a person and a player. I want to help Fiorentina achieve the maximum.”

Pellegrino will wear the Number 32 jersey for the Viola, noting it was the first shirt he ever had on his professional debut.