Real Madrid have a buyback clause worth a fraction of his real value and they have said for months that they’re triggering it but now Di Marzio reports that Nico Paz is being sold permanently and Como would have to pay a premium. Here is what is actually going on.
On the surface, this tweet looks confusing. How can a player be “sold permanently” with Como needing to pay “a premium” when the entire Nico Paz situation for the last eight months has been about Real Madrid’s right to buy him back for a tiny fraction of his market value? The answer lies in understanding exactly how Paz’s contract clauses work and once you do, this update actually makes complete sense, and it is genuinely good news for Arsenal.
Why a player worth €80m can be bought back for €9m
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When Real Madrid sold Nico Paz to Como for just six million euros in August 2024, they built in extraordinary protection for themselves. The deal included three separate mechanisms: a staggered buyback clause worth nine million euros in 2026 and ten million in 2027, a 50 percent sell-on clause if Como ever sold him to a third party, and matching rights on any external offer. Real Madrid effectively never lost control of Paz’s career. They just outsourced his development to Cesc Fabregas for two years.
That development has been spectacular. Paz delivered nine goals and twelve assists in 42 Serie A appearances last season and has continued to be Como’s most important player this campaign, with his market value now sitting at around 80 million euros according to multiple valuation services. The buyback clause, set at a fixed nine million euros, has become one of the most lopsided pieces of value in European football. Madrid can buy back a player worth nine times that fee.
This is why Di Marzio’s framing that Paz “will be sold permanently” and Como “would have to pay a premium” sounds odd at first but actually clarifies the real situation.
If Real Madrid decide not to trigger their own nine million euro buyback, and instead allow Como to sell Paz outright to a third party like Arsenal, Como do not get to keep the proceeds. They would have to pay Real Madrid 50 percent of whatever fee they receive. In effect, any permanent sale to Arsenal becomes far more expensive for Como to facilitate than it sounds, because half the money goes back to Madrid regardless of who buys him.
The financial logic behind Real Madrid’s apparent change of heart in Nico Paz transfer
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Think about this from Real Madrid’s perspective. They can trigger the buyback for nine million euros and bring Paz into a midfield that already features Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler, Brahim Diaz and Mourinho’s other options. That is a squad with very little realistic playing time available for a 21-year-old returning from two years in Serie A exactly the scenario one Planet Football analysis warned against, describing the risk of Paz “becoming a wasted talent by returning to Madrid now.”
The alternative is far more lucrative. If Madrid let Como sell Paz to the highest bidder instead of buying him back themselves, they collect 50 percent of a fee that, at his current 80 million euro valuation, could be worth 35 to 40 million euros to Real Madrid roughly four times what triggering the clause directly would net them in pure asset value.
Mundo Deportivo has already floated exactly this scenario, reporting that it is “not certain” Paz will return to Madrid and that the Spanish club could simply collect their cut from a third-party sale instead.
Scenario B is, on pure financial logic, the smarter move for Real Madrid provided they are confident Paz will not become a generational regret a few years down the line. Di Marzio’s report that he is “for sale” with Como needing to pay “a premium” is the clearest signal yet that Madrid may be leaning toward exactly this option. It also fits with Perez’s strangely vague June 3 comments, which notably did not confirm the buyback in the way earlier reports from April had suggested was settled.
For Arsenal, the obstacle remains exactly as the original tweet states: it is “thought Como would not be able to afford him.” That phrase refers not to Como wanting to keep him, but to the financial mechanics of the sell-on clause.
If Arsenal want to sign Paz, the fee has to be large enough to satisfy both Como’s asking price and Real Madrid’s 50 percent cut which likely pushes the realistic number toward 90 to 100 million euros once all parties are paid. That is a fee usually reserved for genuinely elite, proven Champions League performers, not a 21-year-old who has spent his career so far entirely in Serie A.
Related Items:Cesc Fabregas, Como 1907, Nico Paz, Real Madrid
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