On-loan Real Madrid winger Franco Mastantuono eclipsed Lionel Messi as the youngest Argentine player to score a hat trick in Europe's top five leagues after scoring three times in Fiorentina's 4-2 victory at Venezia on Friday. At 19 years, 28 days, Mastantuono is 231 days younger than Messi was when he scored his first Barcelona hat trick against Real Madrid on March 10, 2007.

Mastantuono's goals were his first for Fiorentina since joining from Madrid on a season-long loan last month and gave the Italian side its first points of the season. Venezia drew first blood when Akor Adams scored in the 22nd minute after good leadup work from American midfielder Gianluca Busio. However, Mastantuono scored twice in one minute, 38 seconds on the half-hour mark to give Fiorentina a halftime lead, becoming the youngest Fiorentina player to score multiple goals in a single game. Mateo Pellegrino made it 3-1 midway through the second half and Mastantuono completed his hat trick six minutes from time. Antoine Hainaut scored a late second for Venezia but the defeat left it pointless and at the bottom of the 20-team table. Fiorentina moved into 15th.

Mastantuono emerged as a star at River Plate, making his senior club debut aged 16, and became the youngest player to play for Argentina's national team in June 2025. He signed for Madrid on a six-year deal in June 2025, beating Paris Saint-Germain to his signature, but struggled to make an impact at the Bernabéu last season and was left out of Argentina's World Cup squad.