Franco Mastantuono 'not thinking about' winning Ballon d'Or following Estevao's comments amid impending move to Real Madrid from River Plate
Updated 15/07/2025 at 12:47 GMT+1
Chasing individual honours is not the main priority for Franco Mastantuono, as he prepares for life at Real Madrid. The 17-year-old is the latest young and upcoming South American starlet to make the move to the Spanish capital. He insists the focus is on winning team accolades with Los Blancos, which is in contrast to the comments made by Estevao after the Brazilian joined Chelsea.
Franco Mastantuono
Image credit: Getty Images
Franco Mastantuono insists winning the Ballon d'Or is not at the forefront of his mind after sealing a summer move to Real Madrid.
Another one of those players who has crossed the Atlantic this summer is Estevao, after leaving Palmeiras for Chelsea.
Estevao nailed his colours to the mast and revealed his aspiration to win arguably football's biggest prize, but Mastantuono was more dismissive of the topic.
The 17-year-old left Argentine giants River Plate for Real Madrid, with the move set to go ahead in August when the winger turns 18.
He is one of the latest starlets taking the well-trodden path from South America to Europe.
Mastantuono said in an interview with Tyc Sports: "The Ballon d'Or is not something I’m thinking about, it’s not on my mind right now.
"I want to win many things with Real Madrid."
Mastantuono then elaborated more on the process, which took him from Buenos Aires to Madrid, highlighting the influence of new head coach, Xabi Alonso.
"I spoke with Xabi and he was very kind to me," he revealed.
"The way he talked made me feel motivated to take this step. He spoke honestly, and for me, that was important.
"Leaving River isn’t easy - we all know that - but his phone call made things simpler and gave me peace of mind,"
"About a year or a year and a half ago, I had a conversation with Real Madrid, but at that time nothing came of it.
"I renewed my contract with River, and at the start of this year, my idea was to stay there. I wasn’t thinking about leaving.
"It felt like a dream. They made me feel special, and I saw it as a personal challenge I couldn’t turn down. Everything happened very fast after that."
Los Blancos endured a challenging previous campaign after surrendering their La Liga title to Barcelona and suffering a heavy two-legged UEFA Champions League quarter-final defeat against Arsenal.
Despite losing their status as Spanish and European champions, Mastuantuono is under no doubt of the continuing allure of Real Madrid.
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He continued: "My dream is to stay at Real Madrid for many years. I don’t think about any other club in Europe.
"Real Madrid is the most important club in the world. This opportunity is something beautiful, and I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can.
"I don’t know if I’ve ever dreamed of this, but for it to happen to me like this is a beautiful thing."
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