River Plate Confirm Surprising Total Cost of Real Madrid’s Franco Mastantuono Transfer

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·14 June 2025

River Plate Confirm Surprising Total Cost of Real Madrid’s Franco Mastantuono Transfer

River Plate have confirmed the cost of Real Madrid’s acquisition of midfielder Franco Mastantuono was higher than just his release clause.

Mastantuono, widely hailed as one of the world’s top young talents, saw a move to Madrid confirmed on Friday, with the teenager making the move to the Santiago Bernabéu in August once he has turned 18.

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While the details of his release clause were known, River have confirmed that Madrid actually paid a total of $72.6 million to sign Mastantuono, making him the most expensive sale in the history of Argentina.

“River Plate will receive a net €45 million ($51.7 million),” a statement revealed.

“The remainder is distributed as follows:• €11.8 million ($13.6 million): Spanish tax authorities.• €1.4 million ($1.6 million): Association of Football Players.• €0.9 million ($1 million): AFA Structural Funds.• €3.6 million ($4.1 million): Decree 510/2023.• €0.5 million ($0.6 million): Other ”

Hopes are incredibly high for Mastantuono. / IMAGO/SOPA Images

Former River Plate manager Martín Demichelis, who gave Mastantuono his debut as a 16-year-old, explained why he is so excited by the young midfielder in an interview with AS.

“During 2023, my first year on the River Plate bench, I kept hearing the name Mastantuono,” he recalled. “I even knew the kids on the U-17 team, but Franco played even lower down the ladder and I hadn’t seen him play or train. I sent a trusted person, Edgardo Sbrissa, to see him. When he returned, he told me that what they were saying about him wasn’t true because he was even better than that. The next day, in October of that year, we called him up for training, and he immediately dazzled me.

“His personality and maturity [stood out]. He performed on and off the field like a grown-up player. I deeply respect the physiology and processes of the human body in my methodology. In pre-season, we had stipulated that he would pace his workload, but it turned out that he not only tolerated the physical demands normally, but he was also one of the most outstanding in that regard.

“At that point, I had to tell [the club] the truth. I told them that he was going to make his debut this weekend and that they needed to raise [his release clause] urgently. I told them that Franco wasn’t just going to be a star at River Plate, but that he was a Real Madrid player. I made them see that he was going to be worth much more than the €25 million that City paid for [Claudio] Echeverri. My words were that Franco would play for Madrid. They then had the skill to raise the release clause to €45 million, which is quite remarkable, since agents don’t accept such high figures to sell their clients quickly.

“Talent like that is rare. Let me tell you something else that moves me. When I hugged Franco on my last day at River Plate, I told him: ‘The next time I see you will be when I go to see you play in a Real Madrid shirt’.”