The Heir Apparent: Como's Nico Paz Tipped to Inherit Messi's Argentina Mantle Ahead of 2026

Lionel Messi has hung up the famous sky-blue and white shirt for the final time, and Argentina's search for a new creative heartbeat has already thrown up a familiar-sounding name. According to Football Italia, reports in Argentina claim that Como playmaker Nico Paz is being groomed as one of the central figures of the post-Messi era, with the 22-year-old tipped to inherit the creative burden the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner carried for almost two decades. The story of how Paz arrived at this moment is anything but conventional. A product of Real Madrid's famed academy and the son of former Argentina international Pablo Paz, the left-footed attacking midfielder announced himself on the Champions League stage with a goal against Napoli in 2023. But with first-team opportunities scarce at the Santiago Bernabéu, he made the brave call to join newly-promoted Como in the summer of 2024 — a decision that has transformed his career. Under the guidance of head coach Cesc Fàbregas, Paz has blossomed into one of Serie A's most exciting young talents. Drifting between the lines, threading eye-of-the-needle passes and arriving late in the box, he has produced performances that Argentine journalists now describe as Messi-esque in influence, if not yet in execution. Real Madrid, notably, protected themselves with a buy-back clause — a sure sign they believe this story is only beginning. The national team has already come calling. Paz broke into Lionel Scaloni's squad in late 2024 and quickly opened his senior Argentina account, suggesting the transition to international football will be as smooth as his first touch. With Messi gone, the number ten role — and the crushing expectations that come with it — is effectively vacant ahead of the 2026 World Cup, to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Nobody in Buenos Aires is foolish enough to claim Paz can simply replace the greatest player in the country's history, the captain of the 2022 World Cup triumph in Qatar. But champions Argentina cannot afford to linger in nostalgia, and Scaloni needs a new source of inspiration if the Albiceleste are to defend their crown in North America. In vision, temperament and big-game pedigree, Paz offers the closest thing Argentine football has to a classic enganche for the modern era. First, his club future must be settled, with Real Madrid's buy-back option and interest from across Europe complicating the picture. But wherever he plays his football next season, one thing seems certain: when Argentina walk out at the 2026 World Cup, Nico Paz will be standing under the brightest spotlight of his young life. Filling Messi's shoes may be impossible. Paz's plan, it seems, is to walk in his own.