Inter Milan Push Pavard Towards Exit Amid Al-Ittihad and Diaby Negotiations

Inter’s new era under Cristian Chivu is already claiming its first major casualty. Benjamin Pavard, World Cup winner and once a cornerstone signing, has been moved to the margins – and the club are now actively trying to usher him out of the Giuseppe Meazza.

He is no longer part of Chivu’s technical plans. That much is clear. Inter’s hierarchy have responded with equal clarity: Pavard is on the market, and the club want his wages and his squad place off the books as quickly as possible.

The trigger? Cristian Romero.

Inter have reached an initial agreement to bring the Argentine defender from Tottenham Hotspur, a move that reshapes their defensive structure and makes Pavard surplus both tactically and financially. To complete that reshaping, someone has to go. Pavard is the chosen sacrifice.

Inter offer Pavard out – with Saudi Arabia in their sights

Fabrizio Romano, speaking live on his YouTube channel, detailed Inter’s approach. The Nerazzurri have not waited for offers to arrive; they have gone out and placed Pavard on the table themselves.

One of the main recipients: Al-Ittihad.

Inter have proposed the French defender to the Jeddah club and to others, hoping a quick sale can unlock the cash they need for Romero and additional reinforcements. It is a calculated push, driven by the financial strength of the Saudi Pro League and the urgency of Inter’s summer plans.

The market has not ignored Pavard. Prestigious European clubs have circled, but the defender has so far rejected the official offers that have reached him. He knows he has options. Inter know they need a resolution.

Inside the club, there is no appetite for a long saga. They want this file closed, the money banked, the squad reshaped. Yet Pavard, according to reports from Italy, is not rushing to meet their timetable.

“Tuttosport” report that he has already turned down approaches from Benfica and Galatasaray, even while accepting that his future does not lie under Chivu’s new direction. He is choosing his next move carefully, not bowing to Inter’s pressure.

Saudi pull: money, stars and a new stage

Al-Ittihad, though, remain a serious option. For Pavard, it is not just about a lucrative contract. The Saudi league now offers a dressing room full of global names and a profile that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. A move to Jeddah would place him among established stars and hand him a central role in a project still being built.

For Inter, such a deal would be a double win. The fee and salary relief would ease the Romero operation and free up room for other targets. One of those is Atletico Madrid winger Nico Gonzalez, identified by the Italian club as a potential boost for their attack next season.

So while Pavard weighs up his next step, his name has become a key part of a larger puzzle stretching from Milan to Jeddah and Madrid.

Diaby at the heart of Al-Ittihad’s internal storm

While Inter try to offload one Frenchman, they are also chasing another.

Moussa Diaby’s future has become a flashpoint inside Al-Ittihad’s summer. The club want to strengthen, not dismantle, yet the winger’s camp is agitating. Reports suggest his agent is pushing hard for an exit from “Al-Ameed”, testing the resolve of the Saudi club’s hierarchy.

So far, that resolve is holding.

Al-Ittihad’s management have laid down a firm line: Diaby is one of their most important playmakers, both on the pitch and as a marketing asset. They will not let him go cheaply, and they will not be bullied into a sale that does not reflect what they paid to bring him in.

Saudi media figure Hattan Al-Najjar captured that stance in a post on X. He stated there is “no intention at Al-Ittihad to sell Moussa Diaby,” describing the current offers as weak relative to the player’s value and insisting they would not even cover the cost of a proper replacement. He put a number on it too: 40 million euros as the fair valuation, and only then, he argued, could a sale even be considered.

Inter circle Diaby with shifting offers

Inter, undeterred, remain in the frame.

Media figure Mohammed Al-Bakiri reports that the Italian club have already adjusted their proposal in an attempt to land Diaby this summer. Al-Ittihad, he says, hesitated over an initial 40 million euro offer for a permanent transfer, prompting Inter to change tack.

The new idea: a season-long loan worth 28 million euros. For Inter, it spreads the cost and keeps flexibility. For Diaby, though, it does not fully align with his wishes. The Frenchman, according to those reports, would prefer a permanent departure if he is to leave Jeddah at all.

The picture becomes even murkier with another version from “Al-Riyadiah”. The newspaper claims Al-Ittihad have instead received an official Inter offer worth 18 million euros plus Albanian midfielder Kristjan Asllani in exchange for Diaby. A different structure, a different valuation, and a clear sign of how fluid and contested these negotiations have become.

A market saga with familiar tension

This is not Diaby’s first brush with the exit door at Al-Ittihad. Previous windows have brought similar rumours and similar pressure, only for each story to end with him staying put.

Now, though, the stakes feel higher. Inter are actively reshaping their squad, pushing Pavard out while chasing Diaby. Al-Ittihad are trying to protect one star while being invited to take another. Agents are testing boundaries. Numbers are being floated in public.

Pavard’s next club. Diaby’s next move. Inter’s final attacking structure. The answers will not come from press releases or polite statements. They will come from who blinks first in a summer where Milan and Jeddah are suddenly, and decisively, intertwined.