Real Madrid loanee Franco Mastantuono has announced himself in Serie A with a stunning hat-trick for Fiorentina, inspiring a 4-2 victory over Venezia on Friday.
The teenager’s treble saw him surpass Lionel Messi as the youngest Argentine to score a hat-trick in one of Europe’s top five leagues, achieving the feat at just 19 years and 28 days old.
Mastantuono breaks Messi record
Mastantuono had Fiorentina chasing the game after Venezia took the lead through Nigerian Super Eagles striker Akor Adams in the 22nd minute.
The Argentine responded in devastating fashion, scoring twice within just one minute and 38 seconds around the half-hour mark to turn the game around.
He completed his hat-trick six minutes from time, securing Fiorentina’s first points of the campaign and moving them up to 15th in the Serie A table.
His achievement was particularly significant because Messi was 231 days older when he scored his first hat-trick for Barcelona against Real Madrid in March 2007.
Mastantuono also became Fiorentina’s youngest player to score multiple goals in a Serie A match, surpassing Claudio Desolati’s previous record.
Real Madrid loanee finds his spark
The performance represents a major turnaround for Mastantuono after a difficult first season in Spain.
Real Madrid won the race for his signature in 2025, beating Paris Saint-Germain to the highly rated River Plate academy product and handing him a six-year contract.
The teenager had already made history by becoming the youngest player to represent Argentina, but struggled to establish himself at the Bernabeu. He scored only three goals in 35 appearances for Madrid last season.
Remarkably, he has now matched that tally in only five games for Fiorentina.
His struggles in Spain ultimately contributed to his omission from Argentina’s World Cup squad, but the season-long loan in Italy is giving him the perfect opportunity to rebuild his confidence.
If Mastantuono can maintain this level of form, his latest record-breaking performance could be the beginning of a much bigger comeback.