There are rumours that Arsenal and Real Madrid will compete to sign a highly rated young player who has been compared to the great Diego Maradona.

Franco Mastantuono has been getting a lot of attention while playing for River Plate in the Argentine Professional Football League. He made his debut for the club in January 2024, after going through their school.

Mastantuono got a new contract with Los Millonarios earlier this year. The 17-year-old is so highly rated that the release clause in his contract is the most expensive in the history of Argentine football.

Franco Mastantuono (Image credit: Getty Images)

Despite the £37.5m (€45m) release clause being a large fee for such a young player, it guarantees that, if a club want to sign Mastantuono – they can.

Despite his young age, the young attacking midfielder has already played 29 games for River Plate, and scored three goals as well as assisting a further two during his breakout 2023/24 season.

Although Arsenal are interested in a potential deal for the youngster, it is thought that Real Madrid are much more advanced in regards to his possible signing, with Los Blancos having held long-standing interest in the teenage sensation – with CaughtOffside reporting that the teen is keen to play for the Spanish giants, who have held early talks over a move.

Back in May, one football fan, perhaps ahead of the curve, revealed his desire for Mastantuono to join Arsenal, saying: “I would like Arsenal to be there for Franco Mastantuono. That’s a zone dominator with everything you need for UCL big moments. Can receive heavy contact too and carry on, no problem,” on X (formerly Twitter).

After developing South American starlets like Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and most recently Endrick, many understand why his preference could be to move to Real Madrid, although Arsenal look set to fight for his signature until the decision is made.