Real Madrid News
Franco Mastantuono names the Real Madrid stars who impressed him most: ‘Gave me a lot of advice’
Franco Mastantuono’s first season at Real Madrid did not go as the club or the player would have hoped, but the experience has given the teenager a valuable glimpse of what it takes to compete at the highest level.
The 19-year-old arrived in Madrid with enormous expectations and initially received significant opportunities under former manager Xabi Alonso.
There were flashes of the talent that convinced the club to sign him, although his overall influence remained limited.
As the season progressed, his minutes became harder to secure.
Real Madrid eventually decided that regular football elsewhere would be more beneficial than keeping Mastantuono in a squad where competition for places was becoming increasingly difficult.
The solution was a temporary move to Fiorentina, giving him the chance to adapt to European football while playing a more prominent role.
Mastantuono names the Real Madrid players who stood out
Mastantuono has nevertheless taken plenty from his first experience at the Santiago Bernabeu.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Defensa Central), he reflected on the players who made the strongest impression on him.
“Which players impressed me most at Real Madrid? Brahim has incredible technique, Mbappe is phenomenal, and Bellingham is incredibly good and gave me a lot of advice.
“I played 35 games for Real Madrid, which is quite a lot for my age.”
Mastantuono also recognises that simply being part of the Real Madrid squad is not enough. He needs consistent football to complete the next stage of his development.
“It was a year of many changes with the move to Europe, which was a very positive experience,” Mastantuono stated.
Loan move is not about giving up on Real Madrid
Mastantuono still sees Real Madrid as the destination he ultimately wants.
He considers it the best club in history and believes staying connected to that environment is the right path for his career.
The decision to leave temporarily should therefore not be interpreted as a rejection of his long-term potential.
Rather, it is an attempt to give him something he could not guarantee in Madrid: regular minutes and responsibility.
Jose Mourinho is looking for solutions to Real Madrid’s problems, and the extended international break has given him time to analyse the team in depth.
Now, according to Defensa Central, one of the conclusions from his assessment concerns Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde, Bernardo Silva and Arda Guler, the players Mourinho believes should be central to the team’s football.
Although they operate in different positions, the manager wants all four to take a step forward on the pitch.
He wants them to push their lines higher and move closer to the opposition penalty area, believing this would help Real Madrid both defensively and offensively.
Mourinho wants to pin opponents inside their own box
Mourinho wants Real Madrid’s play to go through Bellingham, Valverde, Bernardo and Guler, but he has also asked them to start creating attacks much closer to the opposition area and to link up more closely with the forwards.
The idea is to make the team more compact in possession and force opponents deeper into their own half.
If Real Madrid’s midfield can build play much higher up the pitch, opponents will have to retreat. That would allow Mourinho’s side to improve their pressing, make it more effective and increase the volume of attacks.
As a result, Real Madrid should create considerably more opportunities to score.
A compact Real Madrid for 90 minutes
Mourinho wants his team to stay together and remain compact throughout the full 90 minutes, rather than doing so only in short periods.
Defensively, this would reduce the spaces available for opponents to build their attacks and could force them to play more directly, looking to exploit the space behind the defensive line.
That is an area where the pace and defensive ability of Marc Cucurella and Denzel Dumfries, alongside Aurelien Tchouameni, can provide protection.
The same compactness could also benefit Real Madrid in attack by keeping opponents pinned back. Mourinho wants to use the quality of his players to create a greater number of dangerous situations.
Mourinho’s idea is that Real Madrid’s most talented players must push the team forward and help them put opponents under pressure much closer to the box.
