Breaking News: Real Madrid’s €45 million approach for midfield talent is hijacked by Manchester City
Manchester City are planning to hijack Real Madrid’s summer move for River Plate teenager Franco Mastanuono.
The 16-year-old could become Manchester City’s third recent addition from South American giants River Plate, following in the footsteps of striker Julian Alvarez and midfielder Claudio Echeverri.
Alvarez has made over 100 appearances since moving to the Etihad Stadium in 2022, meanwhile Echeverri is expected to complete a switch to east Manchester in January, having signed until 2028 earlier this year for an initial £12.5 million.
Etihad bosses are lining up another potential addition from the Argentinian outfit, with teenage midfielder Franco Mastanuono having emerged as a summer transfer target for Manchester City and the City Football Group.
The 16-year-old has made 18 appearances for River Plate in 2024, including three showings and one goal during the club’s Copa Libertadores campaign.
The attacking midfielder, who can also play out wide, signed a new deal with River Plate in March until 2026, but could complete a major transfer to Europe due to a €45 million release clause within the player’s latest contract.
Real Madrid have already taken steps towards signing the teenager this summer, but have reached an impasse in negotiations with River Plate regarding the midfielder’s transfer fee
Sport Witness relay claims for Spanish outlet Sport that Manchester City are now considering hijacking the deal, with the Premier League champions willing to ‘blow up’ Mastanuono’s agreement and ‘intensify’ the transfer battle.
Manchester City are reportedly planning an ‘express operation’ to complete a shock transfer swoop and bring the teenager to England instead of Spain this summer.
City and Real Madrid have been involved in a series of battles both on and off the pitch in recent years, with the La Liga outfit knocking Manchester City out of the UEFA Champions League on penalties in April.
Information is spreading’ – Manchester City owners consider ending seven-year partnership with club
The parent company behind Manchester City are reportedly considering the potential contract cut concerning Uruguayan side Montevideo City Torque.
News of a potential acquisition from the City Football Group was first reported in March 2017, alongside ambitious plans from the part of the global football business to not only construct a new sports complex for the club, but also refurbish their home stadium.
Formal announcements of a deal would follow in April 2017, alongside an influx of higher-quality players coming into the side and a name change three years into the agreement, as Club Atletico Torque became Montevideo City Torque.
A new club crest, striking similarities with other clubs within the City Football Group, and the completion of a new academy and administrative complex would follow not so long after, however new reports have detailed that the fairytale rise of the club may be coming to an end.
According to the latest report from Torque Info on X, ‘information is spreading’ that the City Football Group would be willing to ‘break the contract’ with Montevideo City Torque, and have their eyes on Central Español within the same city.
While the report clarifies that ‘for now it is just information’, they go on to claim that a separation of Montevideo City and the City Football Group would be due to three key factors: More money was requested and refused, a lack of success, and player training.
As well as the wide-ranging portfolio of clubs owned across all continents, the City Football Group have also expanded into wider business in the sport, taking full ownership of Goals Soccer Centres in February 2020.
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak recently spoke on the success of the City Football Group as a global sporting model, labelling the project in its current status as a “financial and economic machine”.
“I’m very pleased with the results. These results are very sustainable because we have now a very clear foundation that’s been built over many years,” Al Mubarak explained during his recent end-of-season interview with Manchester City’s official website.
“We have a financial and economic machine. As long as we keep managing well and being prudent, you know that growth in terms of revenue, in terms of profitability, I think we’re on a trajectory that’s been there for years now and continues to go from strength to strength.”
He continued, “Since day one, Sheikh Mansour, as the largest shareholder of the group, has been very focused on growth and value appreciation. And in doing so, every pound of profit has stayed within the group to support growth and development.
“The result of it is we always are investing. We’re always investing in infrastructure, in the development of these clubs. We’re buying new teams. We continue to grow and grow.”
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