Ten days ago, Nico Paz told Real Madrid directly that he would prefer to stay at Como next season, while Crickex Sign Up interest around the transfer market grew as his honest wish sent ripples across the summer window. The former academy talent, once viewed as another rising star from Madrid’s youth system, now finds himself at the center of a commercial battle involving three clubs, tens of millions of euros, and layers of strategic calculation.
His future is no longer decided only by training performances or dressing-room hierarchy. Instead, contract clauses, financial fair play, club negotiations, and careful business planning have taken firm control of the story.
The cast of this transfer drama is crowded. Real Madrid hold the strongest hand and insist on a EUR 60 million valuation. Como are stuck in a difficult negotiation but still hold the key card of the player’s own desire. Inter Milan, meanwhile, quietly placed their pieces on the board after a dinner between club figures during a legends match in Madrid. All three sides have different interests, and a young player named Nico Paz has become the center of one of the summer’s most fascinating power struggles.
Real Madrid’s position has been clear from the beginning, even ruthless. They have given Como a cold two-option choice: either Madrid exercise the buyback clause before June 30 and bring the Argentine talent back for around EUR 10 million, or Como pay EUR 60 million to purchase full ownership, while Madrid keep a future buyback option worth as much as EUR 80 million.
To understand the scale, Madrid sent Paz to Como in the summer of 2024 for EUR 6 million. Under the current buyback terms, they would need to spend only about EUR 10 million more to bring him back. That means a total investment of around EUR 16 million could secure a player who has emerged in Serie A and won the 2025-26 Serie A Best Under 23 award. If Madrid then resell him for EUR 60 million, the profit would be enormous.
That is the real logic behind Madrid’s EUR 60 million stance. They are not simply selling a player. They are carrying out a precise financial arbitrage plan. The buyback clause gives them absolute leverage: take the player back at a low price, then quickly seek a much higher resale fee and turn the deal into clean profit.
This model is not accidental. It is one of Madrid’s familiar ways of optimizing their accounts under financial fair play rules. By June 2026, Madrid had already decided to activate the buyback right, and once the move is completed, the most likely path is a resale to the Premier League, which is viewed as the route with the strongest financial return.
From a squad-building perspective, the decision also makes sense for Madrid. After Jose Mourinho arrived and Bernardo Silva joined on a free transfer, the attacking midfield area had become crowded. Even if Paz returned, stable playing time would be difficult. Rather than letting him waste time on the bench, Madrid could cash in while his market value is high after winning Serie A Best Under 23, creating capital gains while freeing space and salary budget for other signings.
Florentino Perez’s message to Como and Inter Milan is direct: if you are not satisfied, find a club willing to pay EUR 60 million and the player can leave. Behind that stance lies Madrid’s confidence in the market value of their academy products, as well as their polished understanding of Europe’s transfer rules. They are not only selling a footballer; they are asserting the pricing power of the Galacticos over their own youth talent.
For Como, the situation is much more complicated. On one hand, they have qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history and will appear in Europe’s top club competition next season. Keeping Paz, last season’s Serie A Best Under 23 and the core of their attack, would be crucial to maintaining competitiveness. The player’s own desire to stay gives Como an emotional card at the negotiation table.
Reality, however, is harsh. Madrid’s EUR 60 million demand is a heavy financial burden for Como. More importantly, under financial fair play restrictions, the Como side led by Suwarso cannot easily carry that cost. It is a real regulatory pressure they must face after qualifying for the Champions League. A Como delegation plans to travel to Madrid between Thursday and Friday to seek a new solution, but the gap between the two sides remains obvious.
Como’s strategy can be described as a defensive counterattack. Their defensive line is the limit created by financial fair play, while their attacking weapon is the player’s strong wish to stay. The club’s management has made its position clear: they do not want to meet Madrid’s financial demand, nor do they plan to buy the Argentine talent outright on Madrid’s terms.
Their approach mixes emotional pressure with delay tactics. Como want to use Paz’s desire to continue in Italy and play Champions League football as a starter to push negotiations in a more favorable direction. At the same time, they are also using the deadlock to buy time, hoping Madrid may lower their asking price later in the window because of financial planning or squad pressure.
The risk is still huge. If Madrid activate the buyback clause before it expires on June 30 and bring Paz back for around EUR 10 million, Como will only keep the financial gain created after signing him for EUR 6 million in 2024. Based on that structure, Como’s book profit and net increase would be around EUR 10 million. That is clearly not the ending they want.
Reports once claimed that Como, controlled by the Hartono family, also have the ability to pay EUR 60 million to keep Paz. Since this will be their first Champions League campaign, regulators may show slightly more flexibility in financial fair play reviews. Even so, it would be a dangerous move. One wrong step could cost Como their key player and also expose them to stricter financial scrutiny.
When talks between Madrid and Como stalled, Inter Milan began to move quietly. Beppe Marotta’s dinner with Florentino Perez during the legends match was widely seen as an important moment for gathering information and building relations. Several player situations were discussed, and Paz’s uncertain future was part of the conversation. After learning the current state of play, Inter sensed that the player’s transfer direction had become uncertain again, and that was exactly the kind of opening the Nerazzurri had been waiting for.
Inter’s position is classic opportunism: they are watching for now, but they are ready to act. Until the current season’s buyback right expires on June 30, the initiative over Paz still belongs to Madrid and Como, yet Inter have already prepared to enter the race. For a club skilled at waiting for the right gap in the market, the Crickex Sign Up window around this deal may soon become the moment when patience turns into action.