Inter is following Nico Paz again: Real's clause opens a market maneuver worth around 60 million euros
MILAN – Inter has once again turned its attention to Nico Paz, the Argentine midfielder who, in Como's shirt, has outgrown the status of a promising talent and become one of the most interesting names in Italian football. According to the latest reports from Sky Sport Italia, Gazzetta dello Sport and Football Italia, the key to his summer remains in the hands of Real Madrid, which retained a strong contractual mechanism after letting him go to Como in 2024. According to this information, the Madrid club has the right to bring the player back for a fee mentioned in the range of nine to ten million euros, and Italian media report that it could then offer him on the market for a significantly higher price, around 60 million euros. In such an outcome, Inter sees possible room for an ambitious move, especially if it turns out that Paz does not have a clearly defined sporting role in Madrid.
The story is sensitive because at this moment it is not a classic transfer in which an interested club negotiates directly with a club that has full freedom to decide. Over the past two seasons, Como has been the development environment in which Paz gained continuity, trust and an important tactical role, but Real Madrid retained control over his future. According to Sky Sport Italia, after the meeting between Real Madrid and Como, no final agreement was reached that would secure the player for the Italian club long-term under acceptable conditions, while 60 million euros is mentioned as a possible amount for a permanent purchase. Gazzetta dello Sport simultaneously writes that Inter is closely monitoring developments, because Real possibly bringing Paz back only for a new sale would open a market window that the Milan club does not want to ignore.
Real Madrid retains the key to the decision
On 25 August 2024, Real Madrid officially announced an agreement with Como on the transfer of Nico Paz, reminding at the time that he was a player who arrived at the club academy in 2016 at the age of eleven. According to the Madrid club's statement, Paz went through all levels of the youth setup, played two seasons for Castilla and made eight official appearances for the first team, and with Real Madrid he was part of the squad that won the Champions League in 2024. Como, in its announcement of his arrival, emphasized that the attacking midfielder born in 2004 had signed a four-year contract, while Cesc Fàbregas was already stressing at the time that there had been strong interest in the young Argentine from other clubs. That is precisely why the clauses Real retained in the deal are of decisive importance today.
According to available reports from Italian and Spanish media, Real Madrid can activate the buy-back option until the end of June 2026, and the date most often mentioned publicly is 30 June. AS reported that the Madrid club and Como are holding talks about several possible models: Real using the buy-back clause, a permanent agreement with Como at a significantly higher price, or postponing the decision until next summer, when Real would, according to the same reports, retain a new preferential option. Sky Sport Italia reports that Real is ready to bring Paz back and then, if it judges that to be the best path, sell him at a market price of around 60 million euros, with the possibility of a new protective clause in its favor. Such a model shows how cautious big clubs have become in managing young players who leave the academy but are still not outside their strategic reach.
For Inter, the most important part of that construction is the question of Real's sporting decision. If the Madrid club brings Paz back in order to immediately include him in the squad, Inter's room would be minimal and would depend almost exclusively on the player's wishes and the assessment of the coaching staff in Madrid. If, however, Real brings him back primarily to capitalize on his growth in Serie A, the price of around 60 million euros becomes the starting point for negotiations, but not a guarantee of a deal. Italian media emphasize in this context that Como has not yet given up trying to keep the player, although the financial conditions demanded by Real would represent an extremely high threshold for a club that developed Paz in senior competition.
Why Paz has become so valuable
The rise in Nico Paz's value did not come only because of the reputation of Real Madrid's school, but above all because of what he showed in Serie A. According to Como's official profile, Paz made 35 league appearances in the 2025/26 season, started 33 times, played 2886 minutes and scored 12 goals. Lega Serie A announced that he had been named the best midfielder of the 2025/26 season, with the award explanation stating that the winners were selected using advanced Kama Sport analyses based on data tracked by the Hawk-Eye system. In a separate overview of Serie A midfielders, it was pointed out that Paz, in addition to 12 goals, also added seven assists and was one of the league's most productive midfielders.
Such an impact is especially important because Paz is not a classic goalscorer, but a player whose value comes from a combination of creativity, movement between the lines and the ability to accelerate attacks in the final third of the pitch. At Como, he was given a role in which he could move inside, attack the space behind the opponent's midfield line and take part in the final phase, but also connect possession with the forwards. For clubs like Inter, that is a profile with a double appeal: he can raise the level of play against low defensive blocks and at the same time represents an investment in a player who is only entering the years in which further development is expected. The price of 60 million euros is therefore viewed not only through his current output, but also through his potential value in the next cycle of the team.
Paz's season at Como has also changed the perception of his status in relation to Real Madrid. While at the time of his departure from Spain he was a talent who needed a regular senior environment, now he is being discussed as a player who could demand clear minutes and a role at a big club. According to reports from AS and Gazzetta dello Sport, his desire to continue his development in an environment where he has continuity is one of the elements influencing the talks. That does not mean the player will be able to determine the outcome independently, because Real Madrid's contractual position remains strong, but it explains why the decision is not reduced merely to activating a clause and making an accounting profit.
Inter's opportunity and financial limit
Inter's interest in Paz fits into the broader logic of searching for younger, technically strong players who can maintain the team's competitiveness in a new cycle. The Milan club has a stable foundation, but in midfield and attacking areas it is increasingly important to find players who can bring creativity without completely disrupting the team's balance. According to Football Italia, several sources in Italy claim that Inter has renewed its interest precisely because of the possibility that Real Madrid could bring Paz back from Como and then put him on the market. Sportmediaset has also stated in its market analyses that Paz has long been present in Inter's plans, but that a deal would require significant financial decisions and room in the budget.
This is where the Milan club's biggest limitation lies. A fee of around 60 million euros would not be technically impossible for Inter, but it would require a clear assessment of priorities and probably the creation of additional funds through departures or a different allocation of investments. Such a transfer would be among the most expensive in the club's recent history and therefore cannot be treated as an opportunistic purchase merely because a situation has opened up in Madrid. Paz would have to be recognized as a strategic reinforcement, a player around whom part of the future game can be built, and not just as a valuable market opportunity. For that reason, Italian reports stress that Inter is monitoring developments, but not that the deal is close to completion.
An important factor is also the sporting project that Inter offers. On 18 June 2026, the club officially confirmed the extension of Cristian Chivu's contract until 2028, thereby keeping a coach who has already been given a strong mandate to continue his work. In such a framework, Paz could be imagined as a player who increases the number of solutions between midfield and attack, especially in matches where an additional technical impulse is needed. Nevertheless, such an assessment depends on the final market price, payment terms, competition from other clubs and, perhaps most importantly, whether Real Madrid will open the door to direct negotiations with Inter at all.
Como between sporting project and market reality
For Como, the whole situation is complex because Paz received at the club the space that enabled his rapid rise, and now the club faces the possibility that precisely because of that success it could lose one of its most important players. The club's official announcements about his arrival emphasized the development project, minutes and trust, and his performance in the 2025/26 season confirms that the plan was a sporting success. However, the clauses Real retained create an imbalance in negotiations: Como may want to keep the player, but it does not independently decide on all key parameters. If Real activates the buy-back option and sets a price of around 60 million euros, the Italian club must assess whether it can and wants to compete under such conditions.
Sky Sport Italia reports that in a new model Como could have a certain advantage or the possibility of making the first move, but only if it accepts a very high price and potentially a new Real clause for the future. Such an arrangement would be unusually difficult for a club that already had the player in its squad, but it explains Madrid's logic: Real is trying to retain sporting control or obtain financial value that matches the player's market growth. Gazzetta dello Sport also highlights a scenario in which the decision could be postponed, which would leave Paz at Como for one more season, while Real would retain the possibility of bringing him back in 2027. That is an option that would give sporting continuity priority over a quick sale, but at the moment it has not been confirmed as a final agreement.
For the player himself, continuing at Como would have clear logic if it guarantees him continuity, a visible role and stable development. A return to Real Madrid carries the greatest prestige, but also sharper competition for minutes in an area of the pitch where the Madrid club already has strong options. A move to Inter would be a third path: staying in Serie A, but at a higher level of pressure, expectations and the fight for trophies. That is exactly why Paz's decision, although it is not the only legal factor, will be important in every scenario involving a long-term change of environment.
What can be expected by the end of June
According to available information as of 25 June 2026, it is most likely that the outcome will be defined through the relationship between Real Madrid and Como before the deadline for the clause expires. If Real Madrid formally activates the buy-back option, Paz's registration and market status would change in favor of the Madrid club, and Inter would potentially negotiate with Real, not with Como. If the clubs agree on a different model, for example the continuation of his stay at Como or a permanent purchase with new Real protection, Inter's room could narrow significantly. If, however, Real decides to capitalize on the player immediately after bringing him back, the Milan club could try to use good institutional relations and Madrid's need to quickly define a plan for the player.
For now, there has been no official announcement from Inter about an offer for Paz, nor has it been announced on the official channels of Real Madrid or Como that a new permanent agreement has been concluded that would close the market. That is why it is most accurate to speak of intense interest and a potential opportunity, not of a transfer in its final phase. Inter would get in Paz a creative midfielder for the team's future phase, Como would fight to keep a player who has become a symbol of its sporting rise, and Real Madrid is trying to protect the value of a player it developed and whose future it deliberately left under its control. In the coming days, the key will not be only the price, but also the question of the sporting plan: where Paz can play enough, grow fast enough and at the same time justify a fee that is already moving around the level of a major European transfer.
Sources:
- Sky Sport Italia – report on the meeting between Real Madrid and Como, the buy-back right and the possible price of 60 million euros (link)
- La Gazzetta dello Sport – analysis of the scenarios after talks between Real Madrid and Como and Inter's monitoring of the situation (link)
- Football Italia – report on Inter's renewed interest and Real's assessment of the player's market value (link)
- AS – report on the negotiations, the clause deadline and possible outcomes around Nico Paz (link)
- Lega Serie A – official announcement of the Serie A Enilive 2025/26 MVP award winners and the recognition for best midfielder (link)
- Como 1907 – official profile of Nico Paz with data on appearances, minutes and goals in the 2025/26 season (link)
- Como 1907 – official announcement of Nico Paz's arrival from Real Madrid and details of the four-year contract (link)
- Real Madrid CF – official statement on Nico Paz's transfer to Como and information on his development in the club's academy (link)
- Inter – official confirmation of Cristian Chivu's contract extension until 2028 (link)