Franco Mastantuono on leaving River for Real Madrid: “I never hesitated” | OneFootball

After his tremendous breakthrough that amazed all of Argentine football, his time in the country was short-lived. In mid-2025, Franco Mastantuono became a new signing for Real Madrid, thus securing the main talent to emerge from River's youth academy. And just six months after his arrival in Europe, he broke his silence to talk about his departure, which generated controversy among the fans.

His impressive level, even as a minor, had such a strong impact that it resulted in a record transfer for Argentina. Although he had to wait until August to turn 18, the Merengue side finally paid 45 million euros to acquire one of the most promising players on the planet, who was also sought after by other giants of the Old Continent.

The fact is that this Monday he gave an exclusive interview with DSports, where he referred to that time. “I never doubted coming to Real Madrid,” Mastantuono stated at first, making it clear what his priority was at the time. “It was my dream and I followed that. It was a difficult decision, but I’m very happy,” he added immediately after.

A few seconds later, he provided new details. “It was a very difficult situation,” he insisted again before explaining his internal dilemma. “On one hand, there’s the love since I was a kid, having grown up at River, which fed me since I was 13, but on the other hand, it was the opportunity of a lifetime to come to Real Madrid,” he said as justification for the decision he made.

However, he took a few seconds to analyze the consequences his departure generated, mainly due to the criticism he received from Millonario fans. “I understand the anger of some fans when I left River, they didn’t like it,” Franco said. “I completely understand them because they want River to do well,” he added about that situation he had to go through.

In the same vein as what was already mentioned, Mastantuono once again emphasized the previous point and expanded on his remarks. “For me, the biggest dream was to play for River,” he clarified first. “When I made my debut, I started to dream even bigger and saw Real Madrid as closer,” he later confessed. “It’s every player’s dream to be able to reach the biggest club in the world,” he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.