How Como plan to keep Nico Paz away from Real Madrid and Inter | OneFootball

Nico Paz is enjoying an excellent start to life in Italy, and in senior football under Cesc Fabregas at Como, but the Serie A newcomers have some diplomatic work to do with Real Madrid to stop them from buying him back in the summer.

Paz netted his sixth league goal of the season during Como’s impressive 2-0 win over Fiorentina at the weekend, and also has three assists to his name from 23 appearances.

The 20-year-old joined Como for a fee of just €6m from Real Madrid over the summer, but the Spanish giants also retain a 50% sell-on fee and have an option to purchase the player back for a fee of €9m this summer, €10m in 2026 and €11m in 2027.

COMO, ITALY – JANUARY 25: Nico Paz of Como 1907 scores their team’s first goal during the Serie A match between Como 1907 and Atalanta BC at Stadio G. Sinigaglia on January 25, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

How Como plan to keep Nico Paz despite buy-back options

The fear for Como, however, is that Paz is already valued in the region of €40m after his impressive performances in 2024-25. Several other clubs across Europe, particularly Inter, have already expressed an interest in signing Paz, who made his debut for the Argentina national team in October.

According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport, Como plan on renegotiating the terms of Paz’s transfer from Real Madrid.

Naturally, they want to remove the buy-back options, but that will likely require some sort of cash payment to Real Madrid. A specific figure or formula has not yet been specified. La Gazzetta dello Sport suggest that a figure of around €20m may no longer be enough to convince Madrid into dropping their buy-back options.

Theoretically, Como could sell Paz back to Madrid for €9m this summer, and then use that money towards buying him back permanently. Added to the €20m mentioned by La Gazzetta dello Sport, that would mean an offer of €29m for Los Blancos.