The first to publicly call it out was Miguel Galán, president of CENAFE, who posted on X that Madrid had committed an ineligible lineup. In his view, the club acted with “manifest bad faith” by registering the Argentine with a B team number in order to bypass the first-team squad number restrictions.

MADRID — Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso has praised the maturity of teenager newcomer Franco Mastantuono and downplayed the player's choice of former Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi as the world's best player.

His 28-minute cameo impressed fans, and Mastantuono made history by playing his first game at Real Madrid in La Liga. Mister Chip from ESPN Deportes reports that Mastantuono became the third youngest foreign player to make his La Liga debut with Real Madrid.

Real Madrid are gearing up for the first match of their 2025–26 La Liga campaign. Expectations are high under Xabi Alonso, especially with new signings Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras all expected to get the nod at the Santiago Bernabéu in Tuesday’s clash.

Their signing of the Argentina international was a long time in the making, and many other clubs were interested too

MADRID — Real Madrid signed Argentine teenage forward Franco Mastantuono to a six-year deal on Thursday. The former River Plate player, who turned 18 on Thursday, underwent his medical and signed the contract alongside Madrid president Florentino Pérez.

The 2014 Champions League final, where Real Madrid conquered the much awaited La Decima, witnessed the last time a player born in Argentina featured for Los Blancos in an official match. That player was Ángel Di Maria, who was named man of the match as he and Madrid conquered European glory.