Real Madrid has informed Como 1907 that it will exercise its €9m buy-back clause for Nicolás Paz, the 21-year-old Argentine midfielder currently representing his country at the 2026 World Cup. The decision, confirmed during a meeting in Madrid between Como’s sporting director Carlalberto Ludi and Real Madrid executives, triggers a seven-day window in which the Italian club can secure Paz permanently for €60m. If Como declines, the player will return to Spain and be placed on the open market, with Real Madrid expecting offers above that figure.

Paz’s rise has been one of the narratives of the European season. Under Cesc Fàbregas at Como, he scored 12 league goals and provided six assists in 35 Serie A appearances, earning the division’s Best Under-23 Player award and a place in the team of the season. His performances propelled the Lombardy club to a historic fourth-place finish and a first-ever Champions League qualification. Italian reports stress that both Fàbregas and the club’s hierarchy view Paz as indispensable for their European campaign and that the player himself has expressed a desire to remain in Italy to compete in the Champions League. Yet the €60m valuation, while reflecting his soaring stock, is described by sources close to the club as prohibitive.

Viewed from Madrid, the operation is a straightforward exercise in asset maximisation. Spanish outlets note that Real Madrid, now under José Mourinho, has no immediate squad role for Paz, given the depth of attacking midfielders already at the club. Instead, the buy-back is a mechanism to capture the profit generated by his development. Transfer analysts point to a potential complication: FIFA regulations prohibit a player from being bought and sold in the same registration window, which could force Real Madrid to structure any onward sale as a pre-agreed deal with Como or to wait until the next window. Meanwhile, Inter Milan’s long-standing interest, nurtured by vice-president Javier Zanetti’s relationship with the Paz family, is acknowledged but considered unlikely to match the financial terms, especially after the club was beaten to Marco Palestra by Chelsea earlier in the window.

The broader context is a Real Madrid squad overhaul. Mourinho has already added Marc Cucurella, Ibrahima Konaté, Bernardo Silva and Denzel Dumfries, and Spanish media report he is pushing for Enzo Fernández as a “new Luka Modrić”. Paz, for all his promise, is a tradable asset in that project. Argentine coverage highlights his World Cup debut as a substitute for Lionel Messi and the emotional weight of his father Pablo’s own international career. The immediate sporting consequence is clear: unless Como finds a way to meet the €60m fee by Monday, Paz will be auctioned to the highest bidder, with English clubs already circling, and Serie A risks losing another of its breakout stars.