Franco Mastantuono: Youngest Argentine to Score Hat-Trick in Serie A
Franco Mastantuono didn’t just score a hat-trick in Venice. He ripped a page out of Lionel Messi’s record book.
At 19 years and 28 days, the Fiorentina winger became the youngest Argentine ever to score a hat-trick in one of Europe’s top five leagues, eclipsing a mark Messi had held for almost two decades. Mastantuono is 231 days younger than Messi was when he hit his first treble for Barcelona on 10 March 2007 – that famous night in the Clásico against Real Madrid.
Different stage, different stakes, but the same passport and the same ruthless instinct.
A game – and a season – flipped in 98 seconds
Fiorentina went into the break 1-0 down at Venezia and staring at a fourth straight defeat in Serie A. Confidence was fragile, the table already uncomfortable, the atmosphere tense.
Then Mastantuono exploded.
Within 98 seconds of the restart, the right winger struck twice, turning a deficit into a 2-1 lead almost by himself. Two quick, clinical finishes, and suddenly the entire rhythm of Fiorentina’s season felt different. From panic to purpose in under two minutes.
Venezia wobbled. Florence grew louder.
As the hosts pushed for an equaliser, space opened up. In the 84th minute, Mastantuono completed his hat-trick, killing off the contest and pushing Fiorentina out to 4-1. Venezia pulled one back late, but the 4-2 final scoreline carried weight far beyond three points: it was Fiorentina’s first win – and first points – of the new Serie A campaign.
A record, a rescue act, and a coach back from the cold
Plenty of the spotlight naturally falls on Mastantuono. Three goals, a historic record, and the sense that a young career has just found its ignition point in Italy.
But the night also belonged to Paolo Vanoli.
The coach had kept Fiorentina in the division last season, only to be replaced in the summer by 2006 World Cup winner Fabio Grosso. That gamble backfired quickly. Grosso’s tenure produced three defeats, a grim goal difference of 1:9, and no points. The club acted fast, dismissed him, and brought Vanoli back to the dugout in Florence this past week.
His return: one game, one win, and a team suddenly playing with edge and belief again.
Real Madrid’s €45 million question
Behind Mastantuono’s breakout lies a major investment. Real Madrid paid €45 million to sign him from River Plate in 2025, a move that underlined how highly he is rated in Spain.
Until now, though, his numbers in Madrid had been modest. Across 35 appearances in all competitions, he averaged just 42 minutes per game, scoring three goals and adding one assist. Glimpses of talent, but nothing that screamed “next big thing” at the Bernabéu.
Now, on loan at Fiorentina until next summer, he has delivered three goals in a single night.
Madrid will have watched Venice with interest. They know exactly what they paid. The question now is whether this hat-trick in Florence is a one-off spark or the start of the kind of rise that once turned another young Argentine into a global phenomenon.
