Some players don’t need gaudy numbers to show their value. Their influence appears —and is felt— in the way a team breathes when they’re on the pitch, and in what’s missing when they aren’t. Franco Mastantuono, just 18 years old, belongs to that rare category of footballers who change the tempo, the flow, and the continuity of play without monopolizing the ball.
And just as Real Madrid enters one of its most unstable stretches of the season, the Argentine is finally ready to return.

Why Has Mastantuono Become So Important for Real Madrid?

Because his role is subtle, yet absolutely decisive. With him, attacks don’t break apart, possessions don’t die on the wings, and the team recovers the rhythm it lost during his absence. His value isn’t measured in goals —he has only scored once— but in how he “glues” the attack together.

The numbers reinforce what the eye test already showed:
– With Mastantuono starting, Real Madrid won all nine matches he played.
– In the last five games without him, Xabi Alonso’s team won just once.

He frees the left side, offers constant passing lanes, demands the ball without fear, and plays with a natural ease rarely seen in someone navigating his first year in European football. At a club as demanding as Madrid, that bravery is as valuable as any metric.

What Problems Emerged After His Absence?

Madrid lost its edge on the right side. Against Girona, for example, the team progressed 40% of its attacks down the left and only 26% down the right —a lopsided imbalance that didn’t exist when Mastantuono was available.

That entire flank slowly faded: less depth, fewer combinations, and almost no natural routes of progression. Mastantuono didn’t just occupy spaces; he created them. He didn’t just appear; he organized. His presence forced defenses to respect a zone that became disconnected without him.

The tactical shift also played a part. Moving from a 4-3-3 to a 4-3-1-2 changed heights, responsibilities, and attacking sequences. Many functions that once belonged to him were left vacant, robbing Madrid of the piece that articulated transitions and provided clarity in the final third.

How Does Mastantuono Arrive to His Return?

The best news for Xabi Alonso is that his recovery from pubalgia is complete. He trains without discomfort and is on the verge of returning to the starting XI.
Xabi himself confirmed it before the Girona match:

“He was suffering a bit and we decided to stop; now he trains without pain and he’s fully back.”

His return won’t magically erase structural problems —injuries, the lack of rhythm away from the Bernabéu, or tactical adjustments— but it restores a player Madrid has missed far more than expected.

Why Does His Return Come at the Perfect Time?

Because Madrid desperately needs stability, fluidity, and someone who truly understands the circulation of the ball. Mastantuono provides exactly that. He connects lines, accelerates when necessary, and slows the game down with maturity well beyond his age.

He is, in many ways, a hidden weapon: rarely in the bold headlines, but essential to how the collective functions.

And now, with a congested calendar and shrinking margins, Xabi recovers the player who brought the most harmony to his system.
Mastantuono returns at the perfect moment —and for Real Madrid, he may be the missing piece that restores the balance they’ve been craving.