Will he or won't he? Lionel Messi has a massive decision to make and, just eight months before the start of the 2026 World Cup, we still don't know whether he'll lead Argentina's title defence. "At my age, it's only logical to think I might not," the 38-year-old told TyC Sports just last month. But, let's face it, there's never really anything logical about Messi's career.
He's football's miracle-man, blessed with a heavenly gift for making a mockery of the laws of physiology and physics. Truth be told, what he achieved with Argentina at the last World Cup in Qatar shouldn't have been possible either. He was 35 at the time and still running rings around the likes of Josko Gvardiol.
However, if Messi does decide to walk away from the international arena before next summer's tournament in North America, how would Argentina cope? After all, it would be an "enormous loss", as coach Lionel Scaloni recently admitted, because "there will be no heir to Messi". The man is irreplaceable, both as a player and a leader. Scaloni, though, has already been preparing for a future without his talismanic No.10 and there's already a strong support structure in place.
For starters, under Scaloni, the fundamental game plan has never changed thus far, whether Messi plays or not, while the coach also says that Argentina are already in possession of players capable of limiting the damage caused by their skipper's inevitable retirement. Nico Paz is undoubtedly one such player…
'A player for the future of Real Madrid'
As is obvious to anyone that watches Paz play, he's a pure street-footballer, a product of the piazzas he played on as a kid in Tenerife, where he was born and raised. His father Pablo was a centre-back, though, and good enough to earn 14 caps for Argentina – one of which arrived at the 1998 World Cup for a squad containing stars such as Gabriel Batistuta, Javier Zanetti, Diego Simeone, Juan Sebastian Veron and Hernan Crespo.
It was perhaps inevitable, then, that the young Paz would start out playing in defence. However, after Real Madrid signed him from Tenerife before he'd even turned 12, they quickly realised that Paz's street-honed skills were far more suited to an attacking role. Consequently, by the time Paz made his professional debut, in a routine Champions League win over Braga on November 8, 2023, he was impressing for Real Madrid Castilla both as a right winger and a centre-forward.
Then-Blancos boss Carlo Ancelotti was often criticised for not trusting more in the club's youth sector but, credit where it's due, the Italian repeatedly invited Paz to train with the senior squad – a move that got the Toni Kroos seal of approval. "This boy should train with us every day because he is very good," the German playmaker enthused.
Ancelotti was also willing to bring Paz off the bench midway through the second half of another Champions League clash at the tail end of November – only this time against Napoli, and with the game tied at two goals apiece. It proved an inspired decision.
With just six minutes of normal time remaining, Paz cut inside onto his favoured left foot and deceived Alex Meret with a low strike from more than 20 yards out. Joselu may have added another goal for Madrid in the dying seconds but Paz was the talk of the Santiago Bernabeu after the game.
"He is a player for the future of Real Madrid," an understandably chuffed Ancelotti proclaimed after the 4-2 win. "He has all the quality that a Real Madrid player needs to have."
AdvertisementThe key move to Como
However, a mini-injury crisis had contributed to Paz making four appearances in total during the first half of the 2023-24 season, so when several key men returned to action, the youngster went back to playing predominantly for Madrid's reserve team in the third tier of Spanish football.
As a result, Paz and his representatives pushed for a transfer in the summer of 2024. Madrid agreed to let him go, too, but on the condition that a buy-back clause be included in the deal – which Paz was pleased about, given it meant he wouldn't have to give up on his dream of becoming a regular at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The only point of contention, then, was where he would go. Como were particularly keen. The Serie A side had done their homework on Paz and director Carlalberto Ludi was certain that they could help him realise his great potential by making him the "centrepiece" of their project.
The problem was that several other sides wanted the winger too. "There was a lot of interest," Ludi told . "We weren't in the front row, but we were the most determined to sign him."
Crucially, Como also had an ace up their sleeve in Cesc Fabregas and the World Cup winner's contribution was, as Ludi said, "decisive" in terms of getting the €6 million (£5.2m/$7m) deal done.
The Cesc Fabregas factor
Paz was on holiday with his family in Greece when his father received a message from Como coach Fabregas. The attacker admitted, "It was a really special moment for me." Crucial to his development, too.
"Having a legend as a coach is incredible," Paz told his club's media channel. "He's a person that puts you at ease and who teaches you a lot, both about life and about football."
It clearly wasn't just a case of Cesc speaking the same language as Paz. The former Arsenal and Barcelona ace clearly viewed the game in the same way. As one of the finest midfielders of his generation, Fabregas understood that desire to be on the ball all the time.
"The best thing is that he gives me the confidence to play my football," Paz told . "He keeps me calm and wants to have me playing in between the lines – and that's something really important for me.
"I also remember him as a player: he had so much quality, and had an amazing final ball. He knew when to arrive in the penalty area to score goals, and that's something I have to improve, to get into the box more. That final pass of his is something that I study a lot."
As a former prodigious talent himself, Fabregas also knew the potential pitfalls of restricting Paz in any way in these formative years.
"He's a special player and he must be free to express himself,” the Spaniard said after Paz scored his first goal for Como in a 1-1 draw with Parma on October 19, 2024. "We must not make him robotic."
'The best moment of my career'
There's certainly nothing rigidly mechanical about Paz, who boasts a certain balletic quality to his movements, and particularly the Zinedine Zidane-like pirouettes that have become such a pleasingly regular sight in Serie A.
The way in which his tall and slender frame glides past opponents before dissecting defences with pin-point passes has also evoked memories of Kaka, while his left foot has provoked comparisons with Martin Odegaard.
Paz, though, says he spent – and still spends – hours watching clips of Messi in action to learn as much as possible from the player he considers the greatest of all time.
It, thus, won't come as a surprise to learn that he barely managed to utter a word to his idol when he was called up to the Argentina senior squad for the first time last October.
"I get nervous when I see him," Paz confessed to . "So, I didn't speak much at all because I was so embarrassed!"
Still, while Paz might not have been able to talk to Messi, he proved more than capable of passing to him, as the debutant teed up the No.10 for his hat-trick goal in the 6-0 rout of Bolivia at the iconic Monumental Stadium.
"It was the best moment of my career so far," Paz told Como's official website. "Providing an assist for the best player in history – and on my debut – was surreal. Considering Leo's age, I never thought I'd have the chance to play with him, but it happened, and was one of the best things that could ever have happened to me in my life." Being singled out for special praise from the great man himself probably ranks as a close second for Paz.
"Nico has a lot of quality," Messi said at the time. "He has a great head on his shoulders, he understands the game perfectly and I hope he continues like this. He played, he enjoyed it and I think he'll feel comfortable in this team because he likes having the ball." It was then pointed out to Messi that Paz was only one month old when he made his debut for Barca's senior side. "I knew about this!" he said, laughing.
The question now, of course, is whether we could see Paz and Messi combining at next summer's World Cup in spite of the 17-year age gap and, funnily enough, the only real doubt is over whether Messi will decide to take up his place in Scaloni's squad, because Paz looks like a shoo-in.