[Behind the Transfer] The World's Clearest Guide to the “Absurdly Complicated” Contract Between Real Madrid and Como Over Nico Paz — The Alchemy of the Buyback Clause

In the summer of 2026, one deal in the European transfer market has left Japanese football fans full of question marks: the contract between Real Madrid and Como 1907 over Argentina international prodigy Nico Paz (21). Read the reports at face value and it says—“Real buys him back for around 1.something billion yen, and a few days later resells him to Como for around 11 billion yen.” Buy a player you once sold back cheaply, then immediately sell him back at a higher price. This deal, baffling at first glance, is actually packed with a “contractual finesse” that is far from unusual in Europe. Let's unravel it slowly, in order.

First, in three lines: what is happening

① In 2024, Real let him go with an “insurance policy” attached

The story goes back to the summer of 2024. Nico Paz, a product of Real Madrid's academy, moved for a mere €6m (around 1.1 billion yen) to the newly promoted Como in search of playing time. But Real had slipped one “device” into this sale: a “buyback clause” (recompra).

A buyback clause is the seller's right to reclaim a player at any time by paying a predetermined amount agreed in advance. The condition Real attached was a “ladder” type, with the price rising year by year—around €8m in the summer of 2025, around €9m in the summer of 2026, and around €10–11m in the summer of 2027. In other words, they sent off a promising academy graduate cheaply, but with the insurance that, if he blossomed, they could bring him back at a bargain.

Note: The buyback clause is a standard tactic for Spanish clubs (Real, Barcelona, Atletico, etc.) when they send their own young players out to hone their skills. It resembles a loan in the J.League, but differs in that they let go of ownership entirely once and retain only the “right to buy him back.”

② Nico Paz breaks out big at Como

The insurance paid off. At Como, Nico Paz surged to a leading role with his high-precision passing from a left foot, his dribbling and his goalscoring. In the 2025-26 season he recorded 13 goals and 8 assists in 40 official matches, growing to the point of earning a rating on par with Serie A's “best midfielder.” His market value soared to €60–70m (11–13 billion yen), more than ten times his sale price. Big clubs such as Inter began to take an interest.

Here is where Real's “insurance” kicks in. Even with his value up tenfold, Real can reclaim him for around €9m (a little over a billion yen) with a single sheet of contract paper.

③ Real's “alchemy”—buy back cheap, resell high

And so, in the summer of 2026, Real decided to exercise the buyback clause (the exercise deadline was June 30). But—Real had little genuine intention of putting Nico Paz into the squad right away. Their aim was different: the enormous margin created by “buying him back cheaply and immediately reselling him high.”

The buyback figure was around €9m. Meanwhile, the club most desperate to have him was none other than Como themselves, who did not want to let him go. Como offered a fixed fee of €60m (around 11 billion yen), plus a condition that a share of any future transfer fee—should Como later sell him to another club—would also be paid to Real. Real buys him back for a little over a billion yen and resells him on the spot for over 11 billion yen. The math works out to a profit of around €50m (over 9 billion yen), rolling in without ever letting him set foot on the pitch.

④ Even so, they never let go of the reins—a new buyback plus a “cut of the resale”

Real's shrewdness does not end there. It is reported that this contract reselling him to Como once again embeds a fresh buyback clause. The figure is around €80m (around 14.7 billion yen), valid only “in next summer's market.” In other words, a two-stage reinsurance: “watch him grow at Como for another year, and if we are convinced he is the real deal, bring him back at the proper price next summer.” Furthermore, as noted above, when Como eventually sells him on to another club, a portion of the transfer fee also goes to Real. On a player they once let go, Real has fastened a double chain—a “next buyback right” and a “cut of the resale”—keeping the initiative in their hands almost in perpetuity.

Note: The details of the buyback amounts and clauses vary by report (some outlets put the initial buyback at €10m and the re-clause at €80m). This column is an “explanation of the mechanism” based on the major reporting as of June 2026; the final contract terms will be confirmed by the parties' own announcements.

Why is this unfamiliar in Japan? Because J.League transfers are almost all either “permanent transfers” or “loans,” and the idea of “selling a player outright and retaining only the right to buy him back” is not common. For Europe's powerhouses, and Spanish clubs in particular, the buyback clause is a contractual tool akin to a “financial instrument” that reconciles developing young players with recouping funds. The Nico Paz affair can be called the example in which that mechanism functioned most vividly (and somewhat ruthlessly).

So who exactly is Como? — The “8 trillion yen” that transformed a small lakeside club

Here a question arises. Why can Como pay 11 billion yen to buy back a player that a “superior” side like Real let go? The answer lies in Como's extraordinary financial power.

The owners of Como 1907 are the Hartono brothers, Robert and Michael, who head Djarum Group, one of Indonesia's largest conglomerates. Their combined assets are around $52 billion (over 8 trillion yen), placing them at the very top of Indonesia's rich list. In 2019 they bought the financially struggling Como and poured in abundant funds and vision. Their thinking—cultivating the club as a “global brand,” with a worldwide strategy foregrounding the brand of a luxury resort on the shores of Lake Como and a partnership with Adidas—boasts a sophistication rare even in recent European football.

From Serie D (the fourth tier) to the Champions League in five years

The financial power translated directly into results. At the time of the takeover, Como were in Serie D, Italy's fourth tier. From there they raced up the ladder—

Driving the rise on the ground is former Spain international maestro Cesc Fabregas as manager. After starring for Barcelona, Arsenal and Chelsea, he joined Como in the twilight of his playing career and then transitioned straight into the managerial role. He is also listed as a minority shareholder of the club, becoming the “face” of the project both on and off the pitch. Assembling talent with ample funds while pursuing a young, attractive brand of football, his style is praised as one that “every club should model itself on.”

“I came here to take Como to Serie A.”

Cesc Fabregas (on joining Como)

Investing 11 billion yen in Nico Paz and meeting head-on the tricky challenge of Real's “buyback”—behind it all lie this overwhelming financial power and a clear growth story. For Real, it is a masterstroke of development and investment recovery; for Como, a resolute move to keep hold of their star. The “absurdly complicated” contract surrounding Nico Paz is a perfect case study reflecting the money game of modern football and the rise of the emerging clubs that drive it.

Note: This column organizes and explains the mechanism of the contract based on various reports (Yahoo! News, Goal, OneFootball, Football-Italia, etc.) as of June 2026. The details of the amounts and clauses may change in future official announcements.