Franco Mastantuono keeps surprising everyone. This past Sunday, the 17-year-old made history by becoming the youngest player ever to score for River Plate in a Superclásico, with a brilliant free-kick goal in their 2-1 win against Boca Juniors.
But Franco’s story is even more special because before choosing football, he was one of Argentina’s top young tennis players.
Born in Azul, in Buenos Aires Province, Mastantuono grew up playing both tennis and football. When he was eight years old, he had a trial with River Plate in his hometown. He impressed everyone and the club wanted him to move to Buenos Aires and live in their academy. Franco accepted, but he kept playing tennis too — and he was very good. Between 2016 and 2020, he was ranked among the top five players in Argentina in the U12 category.
After the Superclásico, former Argentine tennis legend Guillermo Coria said in an interview: “He was a great tennis player. He was one of the best in the country.” Coria also posted a photo of a young Mastantuono at one of his tennis clinics.
Source: @GuilleCoria (X)
Since then, Mastantuono has grown quickly. He played for Argentina’s U17 team at the 2023 FIFA World Cup in Indonesia, coached by Diego Placente, and was also called up to the U20 team with Javier Mascherano.
In 2024, Martín Demichelis took him to River’s preseason in Bradenton, United States. A few weeks later, Franco made his official debut against Argentinos Juniors.
Today, Mastantuono has a contract with River Plate until December 2025 and a release clause of €30 million. Big European clubs, including Real Madrid, are already following him closely.
