Nico Paz
Personal information
Full name Nicolás Paz Martínez[1]
Date of birth (2004-09-08) 8 September 2004
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
 Real Madrid B
Number 10
Youth career
2011–2014 CD San Juan
2014–2016 Tenerife
2016–2023 Real Madrid
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– Real Madrid B 31 (8)
2023– Real Madrid 4 (1)
International career‡
2022– Argentina U20 8 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 December 2023
‡ 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 Primera Federación club Real Madrid Castilla. Born in Spain, he is a youth international for Argentina.

Club career

Real Madrid

Youth 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 plays for the under-19 side. He is also comfortable operating as a central midfielder or playmaker.[3][4]

He made his debut for the 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 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 Real 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-ever goal in the Champions League, securing a 4–2 win against Napoli.[9]

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 called up to the senior Argentina national team in March 2022.[3][10]

He also was called up to the Argentina under-20 side for the 2022 Maurice Revello Tournament in France.[11]

Paz was named in Argentina's preliminary 48-man squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.[12]

Personal life

Paz is the son of former Argentine international Pablo Paz, who played at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.[3][13]

Career statistics

As of match played 6 January 2024[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Copa del Rey Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Real Madrid Castilla 2021–22 Primera División RFEF 60——0060
2022–23 Primera Federación 141——4[lower-alpha 1]1182
2023–24 Primera Federación 127——00127
Total 328000041369
Real Madrid 2023–24 La Liga 40103[lower-alpha 2]10081
Career total 3681031414410
  1. ↑ Appearances in Primera Federación play-offs
  2. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Real Madrid

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Nico Paz at WorldFootball.net
  2. ↑ "Profile". realmadrid.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hall, Andy (7 March 2022). "Who is Nico Paz? From Real Madrid's youth academy to the Argentina senior he's so hot 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". LALIGA EA SPORTS. 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. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ Nico Paz at Soccerway
  15. ↑ "El Real Madrid recupera su corona en la Supercopa (4-1)". Real Federación Española de Fútbol (in Spanish). 2024-01-14. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
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