Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Real Madrid are closely following former talent Nico Paz, who left the Como club last summer.
Paz was 12 when he left his home on the island of Tenerife to join Madrid’s academy and made eight first-team appearances last season, while also splitting time with the Spanish national team.
But the opportunity for him to play regular senior football in Italy arose towards the end of the summer transfer window, moving to newly promoted Como.
Madrid he cashed in for €6m but is believed to have retained a buy-back clause, which is a common tactic when allowing young players to leave.
“We follow him a lot,” Ancelotti he told Italian media this week, with the boss hinting that Madrid have every intention of activating the buy-back clause at some point.
“I think this year of training away from Real Madrid will be very good for him. He is a player who we believe will be the future of Real Madrid.”
Reports suggest taking up the buy-back option at the end of this season will cost Madrid just €9 million. This amount will increase annually to 10 million euros in 2026 and 11 million euros in 2027.
Before last season, Madrid used a €5 million buy-back clause to re-sign left-back Fran Garcia, two years after selling him to Rayo Vallecano. He has made 51 appearances in the following 18 months.
In 2016, Madrid activated Alvaro Morata’s buy-back clause to re-sign the Juventus striker, paying €30m two years after selling him for €20m. He stayed in the Spanish capital for just one season, before the club doubled his money in a €65m sale to Chelsea in 2017.
