Recruiting young players early in their careers can often save clubs millions, and this is why AC Milan are looking at 17-year-old Franco Mastantuono, but they will face competition from Real Madrid – and probably others – for his signature.
It was reported earlier today that Milan have made early contact with River Plate for the ‘next jewel’ of Argentinian football, and his name will be new to many fans, considering he is still a teenager. To educate people on his talents, Milan News have looked into the player.
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The youngster, born in 2007, had originally turned down an academy position to pursue a career in tennis – another sport where he was deemed one of Argentina’s next big things. However, when River Plate returned in 2019, he could not refuse their offer.
Four years later, the teenager signed a two-year deal with the club, with a €40-45 million release clause inserted to protect his future slightly. An astounding figure considering he had never played a first-team game before this point.
Nevertheless, he made his debut earlier this year, and already there are comparisons to Phil Foden and fellow Argentine Paulo Dybala. However, his idol remains Lionel Messi – as it does for most young Argentinians.
An elegant dribbler, Mastantuono also favours his left foot and plays as a Trequartista mainly, but he can also play on the wing, or up front.
He turns 18 in August 2025, and he will only be able to move to Europe after that date, so Milan will have to wait until then, at least, if they are successful. His release clause can be paid in two instalments, which is favourable as well.
forgive me, but I have to repeat.
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we want Daniel Maldini to come back. we want more Italian and Brazilian players. that’s DNA of AC Milan.
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Mocanda should be sacked immediately. he could only clean my shoes. who gave him that job? who manages the club? this is getting really disgusting.
No we don’t, we want to win. That’s ALL that matters.
Ive supported ACM since mid 80s, stop with this patriotic nonsense. The curva would agree. Winning is ALL that matters.
Agreed. Milan needs quality players, regardless of their origin.
Right now, investing in Italian players is not very smart given the price-to-performance being so high.
I understand why Moncada is looking elsewhere, because that’s what all the other big clubs are doing
I do agree with you and I don’t..I’ve supported the club since 1987 and always very much preferred the solid core of Italian players. We started to lose it a bit in the 99 scudetto era.
I think the case in point here is that if we had a more generous transfer strategy and not one based around 15-20m players then we could sign Italian talent. Players like Scalvini, Calafiori spring to mind. Liverpool only have one English player in their staring 11 now, something I know irks many Liverpool fans I know, and the game is more international. However no would like to see 5-6 Italian players in the starting 11. Hopefully that is to come with Zeroli, Camarda, Bartesaghi, Liberali etc
What about this story makes you think that this is about having the best players to win trophies?
Weren’t these articles being written about Liberali mere weeks ago, that he’s Foden-like, etc. You mean to say that getting in a bidding war for a player who plays the same role as Liberali, even being left-sided and born in the same year, and who by definition could only be marginally better given how good Liberali is, is about making Milan a good team?
If you look at the dynastic sides following the point that the game really started to globalise, and which were built without the oligarch money available to Man City or the Real juggernaut, they have a few things in common: they are built out of academies, use lots of homegrown players and otherwise have groups of players with shared histories.
Look at the great Milan sides, there was always a core of Italians. Perhaps the greatest side ever combined that Italian core with 3 Dutchmen. Fergie’s Man Utd was full of British and Irish nationals, many of of whom graduated out of Utd’s academy. Pep’s Barcelona was built out of the academy. Wengers winning Arsenal sides combined groupings of the Dutch and French national teams. Any great Juventus side had an Italian core. Even the current Inter side, which has 2 Scudetti and outplayed Man City in a UCL final has an Italian core. The question you then have to ask yourself is ‘how many of the core players were truly world class in their positions’? Then ask how many were top 5 to 10 in the world?
To the extent that the people who run Milan know what they are doing, and that is debatable, they know that great teams are built around this core of players, guys who can pass on the culture, etc.
It is a false dichotomy that we can be local / homegrown or we can be good. Firstly, we’re AC Milan build the academy, and make the club wide-investment and the talent will gravitate.
Second, and most importantly, we know that the local / homegrown player is crucial to the culture that underpins winning.
Third, there are players who are clearly good enough. Liberali is one of these players and Camarda is another (as he utterly dominates U19 standard players as a 16yo). If you’ve bothered to watch Maldini play since he stepped out for Spezia, his rise to prominence will not have come as a surprise. It is purely choice as to whether Milan wants to invest in Maldini, Camarda, Liberali, Comotto, Longoni, Torriani, Zeroli, Bakoune and Sala just to name a few who are clearly good enough (a standard above the likes of Colombo, Bresciannini, Pobega, Cutrone, etc).
The problem we as fans face is nothing to do with being good enough to win trophies, it is that the transfer market is really about making money trading commodities. There are owners and connected individuals who are making money selling players.
Mastantuono is of Italian heritage just like Retegui, what are you complaining about.
Errr….Liberali…
Exactly
Probably already a deal on the table with Manchester City.