Franco Mastantuono Makes Serie A History with Hat-Trick
Franco Mastantuono did not just drag Fiorentina to their first points of the Serie A season. He rewrote a page of Argentine football history – and nudged Lionel Messi down a list that had stood untouched for almost two decades.
A record older than Mastantuono himself
On a wet night in Venice, the 19‑year‑old right winger rattled in a hat-trick against Venezia and became the youngest Argentine ever to score three in a game in one of Europe’s top five leagues (Italy, England, Spain, Germany, France).
On Friday, Mastantuono was 19 years and 28 days old – 231 days younger than Messi was when he produced his first league hat-trick on 10 March 2007. Messi did it in a Clasico against Real Madrid; Mastantuono did it in a scrap for Fiorentina’s season. Different stages, same ruthless streak.
From 1-0 down to complete turnaround
Fiorentina went into the break 1-0 down and looking exactly like a side with three defeats and a 1:9 goal difference behind them. Then the teenager detonated the game.
In Venice, he needed just 98 seconds after the restart to flip the match on its head with a rapid brace. One moment Fiorentina were chasing; moments later, they were in front and playing with a freedom they had not shown all season.
The pressure finally told again in the 84th minute. Mastantuono completed his hat-trick, killing off any hope of a late Venezia surge and pushing Fiorentina into a 4-1 lead. The hosts pulled one back for 4-2, but the damage was done. Fiorentina walked away with their first win – and first points – of the new Serie A campaign.
Vanoli’s return, Grosso’s brief stay
Plenty of the spotlight naturally falls on Mastantuono, yet this night also belonged to Paolo Vanoli.
Vanoli had kept Fiorentina in the division last season, only to be replaced in the summer by 2006 World Cup winner Fabio Grosso. The gamble backfired quickly. Grosso opened the season with three straight defeats and that grim 1:9 goal difference, and the club moved fast. He was dismissed, and Vanoli was brought back to the Florence dugout in the past week.
His return immediately brought clarity and edge. Fiorentina still looked fragile in the first half, but the second-half response – led by Mastantuono – carried the stamp of a team that suddenly believed again.
From Madrid frustration to Italian release
The obvious question hangs over all of this: how much did Franco Mastantuono cost Real Madrid?
The answer is clear enough. Mastantuono joined Real Madrid from River Plate in 2025 for €45 million, a sizeable investment for a teenager. Until this loan spell, though, he had not truly imposed himself at the Bernabéu.
For Los Blancos, he had managed 35 appearances in all competitions, averaging just 42 minutes per game, with three goals and one assist. Glimpses of talent, nothing more. Now, in Florence, he has hit three goals in a single Serie A match.
He remains on loan in Italy until next summer. If this night in Venice is the start of his real breakthrough, Real Madrid’s €45 million might soon look less like a gamble and more like a bargain waiting to come home.
