Who is Nico Paz? Subbing for Messi, Argentina star in complex Real Madrid transfer

Nico Paz makes his first-ever World Cup start for Argentina against Jordan, slotting in for Lionel Messi as the all-time top scorer in World Cups rests up for the knockout stage.

No pressure, kid.

But the 21-year-old has been dealing with pressure for quite some time. The son of a former Argentina international, Paz was born in Spain and developed in the Real Madrid system, joining their academy before he was a teenager.

With his father Pablo's history putting on the Argentina shirt, Paz's international future always looked to be with the South American nation, despite being eligible for Spain. He played with Argentina's U-20 squad at the Maurice Revello Tournament, a prestigious youth tournament in 2022.

He made his senior debut two years later, assisting Lionel Messi in an October 2024 World Cup qualification match against Bolivia that Argentina won, 6-0.

Paz is a creative left-footed player, obviously drawing comparisions to Messi with his creative play, the ability to cuti inside on his left and the way he floats from the wing to the center to playmake.

He has taken on a larger and larger role with Como, scoring a dozen goals and registering six assists as the team finished fourth, good enough to qualify for the the UEFA Champions League for the first time ever.

What happened with Nico Paz's Real Madrid-Como transfer?

While Paz developed in Real Madrid's system, he currently plays for Como in Serie A, where he is coached by former Arsenal great and Spain international Cesc Fabregas.

Paz was involved in a strange transfer, having already moved from Real Madrid to Como but with the La Liga club maintaining a reasonably low buy-back clause of 9 million euros.

With the potential of Paz moving into a crowded Real Madrid attack and the player hoping to stay in northern Italy, the clubs reportedly restructured the deal, with Madrid now having a much higher buy-back clause for the future, reportedly 80 million euros after the 2026-27 campaign.

For now, Paz, the youngest player on the Argentina roster, is firmly focused on how he can help Argentina, whether it be serving as a Messi stand-in as he is doing against Jordan or doing anything else that may help his nation defend its crown.