Como’s rise has brought more than a place among Italy’s ambitious clubs. By the lake, Cesc Fabregas has helped create a setting in which young players from Real Madrid can grow quickly, while the financial terms behind their arrivals preserve Madrid’s influence. Nico Paz began the connection in 2024; Jacobo Ramon followed in 2025, and both have made the arrangement look increasingly valuable.
The coach and the club
Paz arrived from Real Madrid for €6 million, under an agreement that originally gave the Spanish club a series of escalating buy-back options: €9 million in June 2025, €10 million in June 2026 and €11 million in June 2027. Madrid also retained 50% of any future sale and the right to match an offer from another club should Como seek to sell him.
After the first buy-back window passed, Como and Madrid revised the terms around the Argentine. The new deal saw €60 million go to Real Madrid and established an €80 million repurchase clause for next summer. It gives Como the chance to keep a leading player for the club’s most significant season, with Champions League football part of the landscape, while Madrid remain positioned to reclaim a player whose development has accelerated at a relatively modest net cost.
Ramon’s move has followed a comparable model. Como paid €2.5 million for the Spanish centre-back, with Madrid protected by similar contractual provisions. His first Italian campaign exceeded expectations: he started 35 of Como’s 37 matches in 2025-26 and scored twice.
His importance has only grown this season. Ramon is the only Como player yet to miss a single minute across league and cup football. He also opened his Serie A scoring account on Monday against Parma, finishing from an assist by Paz. His value is now estimated at around €30 million.
Fabregas had been convinced that Ramon suited Como’s project before the defender left Madrid. The former Spain midfielder personally called him last summer to persuade him to make the move.
Fabregas said Ramon’s statistics had not surprised him, explaining that the defender was an ideal fit for Como’s football. The coach admitted that the initial uncertainty concerned whether he could handle the duels and physical demands of Italian football, but added that the player had improved enormously and possessed unusual character.
A growing route from Madrid to Como
The two arrivals came a year apart, but their progress has strengthened the bond between the clubs. Paz has become a central figure for Como, while Ramon has settled immediately into the team and emerged as one of its most dependable performers.
Madrid’s contractual safeguards ensure that the club can continue to follow both players closely. For Como, meanwhile, the arrangement provides access to high-level prospects who can develop with regular responsibility rather than remain on the margins at one of Europe’s biggest institutions.
Ramon’s progress has also been recognised in Spain. He was called into the Spain Under-21 squad for the European Championship qualifiers, alongside fellow Como players Alex Valle and Jesus Rodriguez.
Como’s wider development plan
The club’s work is extending beyond the Madrid connection. Como are building an international development environment around Fabregas’s methods and experience, with established European clubs watching the progress of players given a serious role in Serie A.
The plan also includes Italian talent. Como have signed Liberali and recruited several domestic prospects for the Primavera, seeking to make the club a meaningful stage in the development of both overseas and home-grown players.
For now, the immediate story is written by Paz and Ramon. One supplied the assist, the other scored against Parma, and their partnership has become a concise reflection of Como’s current direction: a club using opportunity, coaching and careful agreements to turn potential into a stronger place in the championship.
