'A child prodigy' - Franco Mastantuono told he has Real Madrid DNA as scout who discovered him reveals River Plate wonderkid was 'one of the best' tennis players in Argentina

Daniel Brizuela, a former River Plate scout who was responsible for discovering Mastantuono in 2017, believes that the wonderkid possesses the Real Madrid DNA, also revealing that football was not the only sport he excelled in. Labelled a child prodigy, Mastantuono was among the best young tennis players in Argentina, Brizuela said.

Mastantuono has been on Real Madrid's radar since 2023, but Los Blancos never showed any urgency with regards to the completion of the teenager's signing. All that changed earlier this week after it was reported that PSG were closing in on an agreement for the transfer of Mastantuono. Madrid sent chief scout Juni Calafat to Buenos Aires, where he held meetings with both Mastantuono's family as well as his entourage. It was also reported that new head coach Xabi Alonso had a phone call with the player, which accelerated the operation. On Thursday, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reported that Mastantuono has decided to join Real Madrid, with a personal agreement established. The only thing left is discussing the terms of the attacking midfielder's exit, as Madrid are not willing to pay the full €45 million (£38m/$51m) release clause in his River Plate contract.

Speaking in an interview with AS, Brizuela started by describing what impressed him when he first noticed Mastantuono: "Instant. You could say it was love at first sight. From the first ball he touched, I could see he was a special player. I was thrilled to watch him. Without any training, he received the ball on a bumpy pitch, made a spectacularly targeted control, and chose the best passing option in tenths of a second. His decision-making was already exceptional. My instincts immediately told me I was in the presence of a child prodigy with superlative talent."

He was also asked if he was a good tennis player, to which the ex-River Plate scout replied: "One of the best in the country at his age. He's one of those kids who's good at all sports. When the time came, like Rafa Nadal, he had to choose between the two, and his passion for the ball led him to opt for football. His tennis coaches were deeply disappointed because he could have been a magnificent [tennis] player as well.

Brizuela was asked which quality in the-then nine-year-old caught his attention the most. The scout replied: "Everything. When I started evaluating him, I saw that he was a player for European football. He was very intelligent, skillful, with great vision and great technical ability. The way he made decisions and his speed on the field were absolutely different. Furthermore, his body type and genetics were spectacular. I told the coach who was with me: 'This is a kid for Real Madrid'."

As a follow up question, AS journalist David Alonso asked him why he mentioned Real Madrid. "Because he had the DNA of a Real Madrid player. He always has," Brizuela stated. "At Real Madrid, they look for a player with special qualities, and he had them all: supreme intelligence, interpretation of the game, individual technique, ambition, and a high competitive level. In that "field," he played as if he were at the Bernabeu. It was a spontaneous comment, but based on an intuition that doesn't usually fail me."

Reports from Spain on Thursday claimed that Mastantuono will feature in the Club World Cup with River Plate, and then join Madrid with the completion of the transfer imminent. However, the Argentinian heavyweights are keen on retaining the youngster for their Copa Libertadores campaign.