Manchester United’s hot streak of snapping up elite young talents under Ineos has come to a halt as Franco Mastantuono has decided to join Real Madrid.
Franco Mastantuono has agreed personal terms with Madrid, and all that remains is for the Spanish club to finish up negotiations with River Plate.
Throughout the saga, teams like PSG were in for him, while Man Utd registered serious interest in Mastantuono, who has been tipped for greatness at just 17 years old.
United in Focus can now exclusively reveal how close Mastantuono came to joining Old Trafford. It’s as sweet a defeat as it can get.
Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images
Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images
Man Utd’s chase for Franco Mastantuono
Mastantuono’s signing was comparable to Leny Yoro in terms of the potential of the player and the clubs after him.
After United did manage to pip out Madrid for the Frenchman, there were no repeat tricks as Mastantuono considered Madrid his “dream”.
Transfer insider Graeme Bailey, speaking to United in Focus, has now revealed that even though United lost the race for the Argentine wonderkid, the final details paint the club’s pulling power in a strong light.
He said: “As we have constantly said on United In Focus, Real Madrid were always the favourites. Even when United were one of the many clubs to hold talks with his agents in the last six weeks or so – they were doing their work making sure all the options were covered.
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“United were seriously interested and Mastantuono did consider Old Trafford, I am told it was really between them, Paris Saint Germain and Real – but Real were always the one.
“Once Real decided to make their move, they used Santiago Solari to push home the deal and he got it done.”
Ruben Amorim and Ineos’ project receives strong endorsement
So far, the only player United have gone all-in for and not been successful in signing is Liam Delap, and even that could be a blessing in disguise for them long-term.
Bryan Mbeumo would have already impressed Ruben Amorim by rejecting the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle in favour of moving to Old Trafford.
Even Viktor Gyokeres is now open to joining United, and that’s after the club finished 15th in the league in a trophyless season.
The failed Mastantuono chase also paints the club’s pulling power in an incredibly positive light, since they beat out competition from fellow league rivals again.
Ultimately, the Argentine’s dream was something else and nothing can be done about that, except for blowing out Madrid with insane finances.
Therefore, if anything, United not doing that should fill fans with confidence that the club is finally balancing financial responsibility with sporting clarity.