Real Madrid have made their choice: for Nico Paz, it is time to cut the cord and grow up

For the third summer in a row, Real Madrid have chosen a different path from Nico Paz. The Spanish giants have no problem handing first-team debuts to academy players and backing them strongly, as shown by the minutes accumulated last season by the likes of Asencio, Carvajal, Pitarch, Ceballos, Palacios, Díaz and García.

But in the attacking midfield and forward positions, the picture changes. Florentino Pérez likes stars - and who does not? The more expensive, the better, with the curious exception of the former AC Milan playmaker, never an undisputed starter but still involved in 42 appearances during the 2025/26 season.

The names available are Franco Mastantuono, Rodrygo, Vinícius Júnior, Jude Bellingham, Arda Güler, Endrick and, soon, Bernardo Silva. What sense would it make for Como 1907’s No 10, now a regular member of the Argentina squad, to put everything at risk by competing with lavishly paid stars and world-class players in his own position?

It will not be easy, but the umbilical cord still linking Como’s star to the club that developed him and gave him his professional debut will have to be cut.

Real Madrid will not give away his registration rights, that much is certain. But for Paz, this is the moment to spread his wings and become the centrepiece of a new project.

Whether that is at Como, Inter Milan or a third club matters little. After a season of 13 goals and eight assists, he looks genuinely ready to become one of the game’s leading global talents - whether Real Madrid like it or not.