For this purpose, the Catalans are keeping their eyes on several players from South America, and one such player who has attracted their attention in particular is the 16-year-old Argentine '10', Franco Mastantuono.

The Catalans like the player a lot, but their economic difficulties keep them from making a committed effort to sign the youngster. The midfielder has a release clause of EUR45 million, which will rise up to EUR50 million in the last ten days of any transfer window.

The Blaugranes are currently working to get back to the 1-1 rule regarding Financial Fair Play, and they can only make a move for the Argentine after they have achieved this goal.

However, according to a report from SPORT, there is bad news for FC Barcelona in their pursuit of Mastantuono, as their bitter rivals, Real Madrid, have sped up their efforts and taken the lead to get the Argentine gem.

In fact, two meetings have already taken place between Real Madrid and River Plate, the first of which also involved Juni Calafat, the head of Merengues' scouting department. He saw the player live in his last trip to Buenos Aires and opened the negotiations for a possible transfer.

Although no formal offer has been made by Florentino Perez, the White Club has already communicated its interest in the player to the Argentine club, with Jose Angel Sanchez, the Real Madrid CEO, leading the contact between the two clubs himself.

Despite the strong interest from big European sides in the player, as things stand, only Real Madrid have made an approach for Franco Mastantuono. Furthermore, Manchester City and Chelsea have only made initial inquiries about the 16-year-old Argentine playmaker.