Real Madrid's biggest breakout star of the 2025/26 season hasn't been young striker Gonzalo Garcia, midfield prospect Thiago Pitarch, or even Endrick in his sensational half season with Lyon in Ligue 1 on loan.
No, it has easily been Nico Paz, who was already a great player for Como but is leading the club's charge to the Champions League with a season so good he's been clearly better than every Real Madrid star this season and is a legitimate Ballon d'Or sleeper after the big favorites like Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, and Michael Olise. In fact, you can easily make a case for Paz being the most important player to his team's success in all of European football with how much Como lean on him to create, score goals, and even defend and progress the ball.
A closer player to a Luka Modric heir than a competitor to Arda Guler, smart Real Madrid fans are hoping that the rumors are true and that Los Blancos will bring Paz back from Como for a meager nine million euros. But Como and Cesc Fabregas are very intent on keeping their center piece star to their Champions League project for at least one more season, while Serie A champions Inter Milan know he is an amazing player and want to bring him in to help their own Champions League cause, too.
All eyes are on Jose Mourinho now
According to a report from Fabrizio Romano on his YouTube channel, Nico Paz is still waiting out his future with Real Madrid amidst all these options in the background. Like a few other key decisions this summer, such as Rodri's potential signing from Manchester City, Paz's fate rests in the hands of the wishes of incoming manager Jose Mourinho, which makes a ton of sense. Romano reports that Paz wants to hear out what Mourinho plans are for him in terms of his role and his importance, and Real Madrid will reportedly give Mou a big say in what happens to Paz's future this summer.
Mourinho is a smart man, and he knows that Arda Guler is a world class playmaker and central to his project as his possible Mesut Ozil. But if he is still as great as he was in his first stint at Real Madrid, he will also know that he needs a Luka Modric and an al around midfielder of Paz's quality can potentially bring that to the table for him after carrying Como.
Paz's storyline is one of the most important for Real Madrid this summer. He is a potential world class midfield to upgrade a pretty mediocre Real Madrid midfield, by the standards they are shooting for at least, on the cheap this summer. Or he could keep being the Italian top flight's best player. The choice is now Mourinho's.
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