Federico Dimarco's Future at Inter: Contract Talks in Madrid

Inter’s night at the Bernabeu is not just about Real Madrid and the Champions League. It is also about Federico Dimarco and his future.

Simone Inzaghi’s side open their 2026-27 European campaign in Madrid this evening, 20.00 UK time, 21.00 CEST, but they do so without Dimarco and Djed Spence, both sidelined by injury. Dimarco has been training with a support strap on his knee and did not make the squad, yet his name still dominates the Inter agenda.

Contract talks in the Bernabeu stands

High up in the stands, away from the noise of the warm‑up, Dimarco’s agent Arturo Canales has taken his seat. Not just to watch. To negotiate.

Sky Sport Italia report that Canales used the trip to Spain to sit down in person with Inter’s new director of sport, Dario Baccin. A Champions League opener at the Bernabeu is as high-profile a backdrop as any, and Inter chose it to move a delicate issue forward.

Dimarco recently made it clear he was still waiting for a concrete proposal on a new deal, despite his current contract running until June 2028. For a player so central to Inter’s recent success, the silence had started to sound loud.

He holds the cards. The left-back was named Serie A Player of the Season for 2025-26, a recognition that underlines his rise from academy product to one of the most decisive players in Italy. He celebrated that campaign lifting both the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia at San Siro in May, posing with the Coppa Campioni d’Italia and Coppa Italia trophies as a symbol of Inter’s dominance.

Now comes the moment to turn status into salary.

New power structure at Inter

The meeting in Madrid also serves another purpose: it is one of Baccin’s first major acts since stepping up to replace Piero Ausilio as director of sport. For years, Baccin worked in Ausilio’s shadow as his right-hand man. Now he is the one leading talks with the club’s biggest names.

Setting the tone with Dimarco matters. Inter need to show their Player of the Season that he sits at the heart of their project, not on its margins. Dimarco, for his part, knows his value in a market where attacking full-backs of his level are scarce.

So while the spotlight tonight will follow the players on the pitch at the Bernabeu, one of Inter’s most important battles could be unfolding in the VIP area, in a quiet conversation about years, clauses and a pay rise worthy of a champion.