Nico Paz

Argentine footballer (born 2004)
Nico Paz
Personal information
Full name Nicolás Paz Martínez[1]
Date of birth (2004-09-08) 8 September 2004 (age 19)
Place of birth Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain[1]
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Como
Number 79
Youth career
2011–2014 CD San Juan
2014–2016 Tenerife
2016–2023 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2024 Real Madrid B 49 (11)
2023–2024 Real Madrid 4 (1)
2024– Como 1 (0)
International career‡
2022– Argentina U20 8 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 26 August 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 28 January 2023

Nicolás "Nico" Paz Martínez (born 8 September 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Como. Born in Spain, he is a youth international for Argentina.

Club career

Real Madrid

Early career

A youth product of CD San Juan and Tenerife, Paz joined the Real Madrid's La Fábrica in 2016.[2]

Initially starting his career as a central defender, Paz moved further up the pitch as he developed. After playing as a centre forward, he switched to the wing, where he played for the under-19 side. He is also comfortable operating as a central midfielder or playmaker.[3][4]

He made his debut for Real Madrid's B-team in a 3–1 win over Andorra in January 2022, coming on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Iván Morante.[3]

2023–24: First-team breakthrough

On 8 November 2023, Paz made his first-team and Champions League debut for Real Madrid in a group stage match against Braga as a substitute in the 77th minute to replace Federico Valverde at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.[5][6] On 11 November 2023, Paz made his La Liga debut for Madrid in a 5–1 victory over Valencia, coming on as a substitute in the 82nd minute for Dani Carvajal.[7][8] On 29 November, he scored his first goal in the Champions League, securing a 4–2 win against Napoli.[9]

Como

On 25 August 2024, Paz signed for Serie A club Como on a four-year deal for a reported €6m fee.[10][11] The following day, he made his debut for the club, coming on as a substitute in a 1–1 draw against Cagliari.[12]

International career

Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Paz is eligible to represent both Spain and Argentina at international level.[1] He was first called up to the senior Argentina national team in March 2022.[3][13]

He also was called up to the Argentina under-20 side for the 2022 Maurice Revello Tournament in France.[14]

Paz was named in Argentina's preliminary 48-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[15]

Personal life

Paz is the son of former Argentine international Pablo Paz, who played at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.[3][16]

Career statistics

As of match played 26 August 2024[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Real Madrid Castilla 2021–22 Primera División RFEF 6 0 — — — 6 0
2022–23 Primera Federación 14 1 — — 4[a] 1 18 2
2023–24 Primera Federación 29 10 — — — 29 10
Total 49 11 0 0 0 0 4 1 53 12
Real Madrid 2023–24 La Liga 4 0 1 0 3[b] 1 0 0 8 1
Como 2024–25 Serie A 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
Career total 54 11 1 0 3 1 4 1 62 13
  1. ^ Appearances in Primera Federación play-offs
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Real Madrid

References

  1. ^ a b c d Nico Paz at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ "Profile". realmadrid.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Hall, Andy (7 March 2022). "Who is Nico Paz? From Real Madrid's youth academy to the Argentina senior side". en.as.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  4. ^ Valle, Tomás (7 March 2022). "¿Quién es Nico Paz y cuantos millones cuesta la gran promesa del Real Madrid?" [Who is Nico Paz and how many millions does the great promise of Real Madrid cost?]. elfutbolero.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Nico Paz makes his Real Madrid debut". Real Madrid CF. 8 November 2023. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Real Madrid-Braga: UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Group stage". UEFA. 8 November 2023. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Real Madrid vs Valencia CF". La Liga. 2023-11-11. Archived from the original on 2023-07-19. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  8. ^ "Real Madrid 5–1 Valencia: Player ratings as Los Blancos run riot". 90min. 2023-11-11. Archived from the original on 2023-11-12. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
  9. ^ "Nico Paz overwhelmed after scoring first Real Madrid goal in Napoli victory – "This is a dream"". Football España. 29 November 2023. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Como 1907 annuncia l'astro nascente del Real Madrid e nazionale giovanile argentino Nico Paz" (in Italian). Como 1907. 25 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Como sign rising attacking midfielder Nico Paz from Real Madrid". OneFootball. 25 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ "Serie A | Cagliari 1–1 Como: Match Report". Foot Italia. 26 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  13. ^ Caballero, Jorge (7 March 2022). "¿Quiénes son Nico Paz y Alejandro Garnacho, los talentos españoles que sorprendieron a Scaloni?" [Who are Nico Paz and Alejandro Garnacho, the Spanish talents that surprised Scaloni?]. ar.marca.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Convocados de la Sub 20 para el Torneo Maurice Revello" [Sub 20: all the information on the Maurice Revello Tournament]. afa.com.ar (in Spanish). 20 May 2022. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  15. ^ Hancock, Greg Lea Contributions from Tom; published, Alasdair Mackenzie (2022-11-02). "Argentina World Cup 2022 squad: Lionel Scaloni announces 48-man longlist". fourfourtwo.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-18. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
  16. ^ Sánchez, Borja (7 March 2022). "¿Quiénes son Nico Paz y Alejandro Garnacho, los talentos españoles que sorprendieron a Scaloni?" [Nico Paz, the promise of Real Madrid that falls in love with Scaloni: called up by Argentina at only 17 years old]. elespanol.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  17. ^ Nico Paz at Soccerway
  18. ^ "Real Madrid crowned champions after Barca's defeat at Girona". BBC Sport. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  19. ^ "El Real Madrid recupera su corona en la Supercopa (4–1)" (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
  20. ^ "Real Madrid win Champions League: Carvajal and Vinícius Júnior see off Dortmund". UEFA. 2024-06-01. Archived from the original on 2024-06-01. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
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Como 1907 – current squad