Real Madrid’s Nico Paz Clause Puts Arsenal’s Transfer Plans in Doubt

COMO, Italy — Nico Paz has become a central figure in Serie A since joining Como, where the 22-year-old attacking midfielder is coached by Cesc Fàbregas. His performances have drawn intense scouting from Arsenal, who are reportedly targeting a move for him in January 2027.

The transfer would not be a standard negotiation between Arsenal and Como. When Como secured Paz on a permanent transfer, the deal was valued at €60 million, while Real Madrid retained a unilateral buy-back option worth €80 million. That clause becomes active in the summer of 2027.

Paz’s development accelerated in Lombardy after he joined Como 1907’s ambitious project. Backed by the immense financial resources of the Indonesian conglomerate Djarum Group, the club moved from Serie B promotion to becoming a highly competitive top-flight side. Fàbregas, a former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder, has built a possession-oriented, fluid attacking style around which Paz’s creative skill set has flourished.

His statistical progression has been substantial. In the 2024–25 season, Paz played 35 Serie A matches, scoring 6 goals and providing 8 assists. In the subsequent season, he again appeared in 35 Serie A matches, but recorded 12 goals and 6 assists. He has operated as an advanced number 10 and served as Como’s creative fulcrum during the club’s push toward Serie A European qualification places. His first goal of the current domestic campaign came in a 4–1 victory over Genoa.

Real Madrid’s contractual leverage was created after the Spanish club chose not to activate an earlier buy-back option of approximately €9 million. Paz preferred to continue developing elsewhere, so Madrid agreed to Como’s €60 million purchase instead. The arrangement generated immediate financial gain while replacing the lower clause with a buy-back figure aligned with Paz’s rising market value.

Official club communications said the agreement was finalized “a petición del propio jugador” (“at the request of the player himself”). Paz had prioritized guaranteed first-team minutes over a secondary role in Madrid’s star-studded squad. His contract with Como runs until June 2028, giving him the option of remaining at the club through the remainder of that deal.

The structure reflects a wider strategy associated with Florentino Pérez and Real Madrid’s academy, La Fábrica. The club has used buy-back options and 50% sell-on clauses to preserve control over academy graduates after their departures. Dani Carvajal, for example, was sold to Bayer Leverkusen in 2012 with a buy-back clause and recalled a year later before becoming a multi-time Champions League winner.

Álvaro Morata followed a similar route when he was sold to Juventus and brought back through a buy-back clause before being transferred to Chelsea for a substantial profit. More recently, left-backs Fran García and Miguel Gutiérrez were handled through comparable contractual arrangements, allowing Madrid either to reintegrate them or retain significant financial leverage over their future movements.

Paz’s own route to the top level began in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. He first received his footballing education in Tenerife’s youth ranks before being scouted and signed by Real Madrid’s academy in 2016. He progressed through La Fábrica and became the standout player for Real Madrid Castilla under club legend Raúl.

He made his senior debut for Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti in November 2023, appearing in a UEFA Champions League group stage match against Braga. On November 29, 2023, Paz scored his first senior goal for Madrid with a late strike in a 4–2 Champions League victory over Napoli at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Paz was born in Spain but chose to represent Argentina internationally. His father, Pablo Paz, was a former international defender who represented Argentina at the 1998 World Cup. Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni subsequently called him into the senior team, and Paz debuted for the reigning World Cup champions on October 15, 2024, as a substitute in a 6–0 World Cup qualifying victory over Bolivia. He provided an assist for Lionel Messi in that match.

Arsenal’s interest is consistent with Mikel Arteta’s preference for technically proficient, versatile attacking midfielders able to operate between defensive lines. The Gunners have also recruited from Real Madrid’s system before: Martin Ødegaard initially joined on loan in 2021 and later signed permanently. Under Arteta, Ødegaard developed from an underutilized Madrid prospect into Arsenal’s captain and one of the Premier League’s premier playmakers, a trajectory Arsenal’s recruitment department sees as comparable to Paz’s.

If Arsenal formalizes an offer to Como in January 2027, Real Madrid would have to decide whether to let the transfer proceed or intervene through its buy-back leverage. Any concrete move could trigger the €80 million clause, allowing Madrid either to retain Paz or resell him at a premium.

The possible outcomes include Paz remaining at Como as the undisputed centerpiece of Fàbregas’s team, where he could compete in European competitions and further elevate his market value. Arsenal could also intervene in January 2027, while Real Madrid could determine that Paz is ready for a permanent first-team role and activate the €80 million clause in the summer of 2027, preventing rival clubs from signing him and securing an elite talent developed at another club’s expense.