Nico Paz will finally face Barcelona in the Champions League, with Como, the club Real Madrid never let him face them for

He never got to play in a Real Madrid-Barcelona match. Not a single one. And yet, in just a few months, Nico Paz is going to face off against Barca in Europe's biggest competition. The paradox has a name: Como 1907, the Italian club that gave him the chance Real Madrid never quite did.

The draw for the 2026-27 Champions League league phase is already set, and it produced a matchup nobody would have imagined a couple of years ago: Como against Barcelona, with the Argentine right in the middle of it. For the 21 year old who was recently a finalist at the 2026 World Cup with the national team, it will be the first time he gets to face his former club's fiercest rival, even if it means wearing different colors.

The story of how he got here has plenty of merit on its own. Paz was a central piece in Como's remarkable rise, going from fighting for promotion in Serie A to reaching the Champions League for the first time in the club's history. On the final matchday of the Italian league, the team routed Cremonese, and since Milan lost to Cagliari, Como finished fourth and grabbed the European spot that once looked out of reach.

From Valverde's understudy to scorer against Napoli

Paz came up through Real Madrid's youth system and went on to play two seasons with the first team, after a loan spell at Castilla. He made his debut in late 2023, coming on for Federico Valverde in a win over Sporting Braga in the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu, and three days later logged his first LaLiga appearance, in another rout, this time against Valencia.

In that same Champions League campaign he scored his first goal as a professional, a shot from outside the box that made it 3-2 for Real Madrid over Napoli. That goal made him the second youngest Argentine to score in the competition, behind only Lionel Messi. What never came, though, was a match against Barcelona.

Exactly two years ago he moved to Como for 6 million euros, with Real Madrid retaining a buyback option and 50 percent of the rights to any future sale. That's where he took off: he has already scored 18 goals in Como's blue jersey, and now he'll look to add one more against the very team that, until recently, seemed out of reach in his European career.

During the last transfer window, there was strong talk of a possible return to Madrid, but he chose to stay. He explained his decision clearly:

I've decided that the best option for my career is to stay at Como for another year, the club that gave me the chance to grow and become the player I am today. Personally, this is the best decision both for me and for Real Madrid, since this is a very important year at this stage and a chance to keep growing as a footballer and prepare myself in the best way for the future.Nico Paz

The European schedule won't be easy for Como: they'll also have to face PSG, the reigning back-to-back champions, and Manchester United. But the trip to Camp Nou to play Barcelona carries, for Nico Paz, a special edge that no other match in this Champions League campaign can offer him.