La Liga surprise: Why Franco Mastantuono isn’t in Real Madrid’s registered squad for 2025-26 season

When the official La Liga squad list was published, fans were stunned to see one glaring omission: Mastantuono was nowhere to be found among Real Madrid’s registered first-team players.

The excitement around Franco Mastantuono’s arrival at Real Madrid has been huge. Touted as one of the most promising midfielders of his generation, the 18-year-old Argentine prodigy is seen as a cornerstone of the club’s long-term project. But when the official La Liga squad list was published, fans were stunned to see one glaring omission: Mastantuono was nowhere to be found among Real Madrid’s registered first-team players.

The absence immediately sparked speculation. Was it an administrative error? A problem with his transfer? Or perhaps something more strategic? The mystery didn’t last long — and the truth behind Mastantuono’s registration decision is both calculated and controversial.

Unlike rivals Barcelona, Real Madrid had no issues registering its senior players with La Liga ahead of the 2025-26 campaign. The list featured every expected name, each with an assigned shirt number from 1 to 25.

However, as fans scrolled through, Mastantuono’s name was missing. This was especially surprising given his recent high-profile presentation at the Santiago Bernabéu, where he smiled with his new shirt and proudly held up his number. So why wasn’t he there?

The reason behind the omission

Midway through the saga, the explanation was revealed: Mastantuono has been registered not with the first team, but with Castilla, the reserve side. This means he will wear the number 30 shirt, a number with personal history, since it was the same one he wore during his early days at River Plate.

By being listed as a Castilla player, the Argentine teenager can feature in first-team games under La Liga rules, while the club also keeps the number 25 free for a possible late signing before the transfer market closes.

It’s a maneuver Los Blancos have successfully used before, with Vinicius and Rodrygo, though both Brazilians spent time playing for Castilla — something that does not appear to be in the plans for Mastantuono.

Strategic but risky move

This decision is not without controversy. Soccer administrator Miguel Galan sharply criticized Real Madrid’s approach, warning that it might breach RFEF regulations. On his official X account, he wrote: “Mastantuono could be registered with Castilla’s reserve-team license as a loophole that would allow Real Madrid to keep an option open in the transfer market until September 2. However, this carries a risk under Article 250 of the RFEF regulations, which permits reserve players to feature for the first team but requires compliance with strict provisions.”

Galan cited Article 125 of the General Regulations, stressing: “The affiliate or dependency relationship may not be used as a mechanism to circumvent the spirit of regulatory provisions… Any agreement that violates this spirit will be considered an interpretation in fraud of the law.”

In other words, while technically legal, this tactic could be deemed a “fraud of law” if Mastantuono plays exclusively for the first team while being registered with the reserves.