Franco Mastantuono Sets New Record with Hat-Trick in Serie A

Real Madrid loanee Franco Mastantuono made history by becoming the youngest Argentine player to score a hat-trick in one of the top five leagues in Europe.

As reported by Planet Football on Sunday, the 19-year-old winger netted three goals as Fiorentina came back to defeat Venezia 4-2 in Serie A. This win marked Fiorentina's first points of the season in a strong manner.

Mastantuono was 19 years and 28 days old when he achieved this milestone. He is now 231 days younger than Lionel Messi was when the Barcelona star scored his first hat-trick in one of Europe's major leagues.

Two of Mastantuono's goals came in just 108 seconds as Fiorentina turned a one-goal deficit into a memorable comeback.

This performance could be a turning point for Mastantuono, who had a tough start after joining Italy on loan from Real Madrid.

Fiorentina lost the first three matches in which the Argentine played. But his strong showing against Venezia showed the potential that made Real Madrid sign him from River Plate for €45 million in 2025.

Last season, Mastantuono made 35 appearances for Real Madrid before being loaned to Fiorentina for this campaign. His challenging first year in Madrid also led to him missing Argentina's World Cup squad. But his latest performance might help his chances of returning to the national team.

The young player has always admired Messi. He chose the number 30 shirt at Real Madrid, the same number Messi wore when he started his career at Barcelona.

Mastantuono also praised Messi during his introduction at Madrid, calling the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner the best player in the world.

Talking about his playing style, Mastantuono said he is comfortable in different attacking roles.

"I’m an offensive player, left-footed, right-footed… I don’t like to describe myself; I prefer others to do it," he said.

"What’s certain is that I’m going to give it my all. I’m going to be there in whatever way I can to help the team."

He added: "I’m here to help in any way I can, although I’m more accustomed to starting on the right and coming inside."

Mastantuono’s record-breaking hat-trick ended a record that Messi held for almost 30 years. Messi famously scored his first hat-trick for Barcelona against Real Madrid in 2007.

By the time he finished his teenage years, Messi had scored 30 goals for Barcelona, while Mastantuono currently has 16 senior career goals.

However, Barcelona's young star Lamine Yamal is already raising the bar among teen players. Born just a month before Mastantuono, Yamal has netted 54 goals for the Catalan club.