Inter's Push to Exit Pavard Amid Al-Ittihad's Diaby Battle

Inter have stopped talking around it. They are actively trying to move Benjamin Pavard on – and quickly.

Cristian Chivu’s new project at the Giuseppe Meazza does not include the French World Cup winner, and the club have started to act accordingly in this summer window. Pavard has slipped out of the technical plans, and Inter are now treating his departure as both a sporting and financial priority.

The turning point came with an agreement in principle for Cristian Romero. Once the Argentine defender’s move from Tottenham Hotspur began to take shape, the numbers at Appiano Gentile no longer added up with Pavard still on the books. Wages, squad slots, balance sheet: the equation pushed the 2018 champion towards the door.

Fabrizio Romano, speaking live on his YouTube channel, detailed the strategy. Inter have offered Pavard to Al-Ittihad and other clubs, hoping to accelerate his exit and unlock the cash they need to complete their defensive reshuffle. The message from the Nerazzurri is clear: there is no time to waste.

The market, though, is not bending easily to their will.

Pavard continues to draw interest from big European sides, a natural consequence of his pedigree and versatility. Yet his next destination remains a mystery. He has already turned down official proposals that reached him in recent weeks, leaving Inter in an awkward limbo: desperate to close the chapter, but still waiting on the player’s green light.

Italian reports paint a picture of a defender in no hurry. Under pressure from Inter, Pavard is still taking his time. “Tuttosport” report that he has flatly rejected offers from Benfica and Galatasaray, even though he recognises there is no future for him under Chivu’s new direction. The clock is ticking loudly for the club; not so much for the player.

Al-Ittihad, though, sit in a different category. The Saudi club appeal to Pavard on more than one level. The money is significant, of course, but the prospect of sharing a dressing room with a cluster of global stars in a fast-growing league adds another layer of attraction. A move to Jeddah would not just change his tax bracket; it would reshape his career.

For Inter, such a transfer would be a release valve. A sizeable fee and a major salary off the books would give them fresh room to manoeuvre, especially in their search for attacking reinforcements. One of the names circling their radar is Atletico Madrid winger Nico Gonzalez, highlighted in the Italian press as a serious target for next season’s front line.

Al-Ittihad's Battle for Diaby

While the Pavard file drags on, Al-Ittihad are fighting a very different battle over Moussa Diaby.

Inside the Saudi club, the French winger is seen as one of the pillars of the project. At the same time, reports suggest his agent is pushing hard to engineer an exit from “Al-Ameed”, increasing the tension around a player whose future has been questioned more than once.

The club’s hierarchy, though, are standing firm. They believe they paid both a technical and marketing premium to bring Diaby in, and they are not willing to see him walk for anything below that level. Offers have arrived, but from their point of view, they do not come close to the winger’s true value.

Saudi media figure Hattan Al-Najjar laid out the stance publicly on his X account. He wrote that Al-Ittihad have “no intention” of selling Diaby, describing the bids on the table as weak compared to his importance and insisting they would not even cover the cost of a proper replacement. He underlined one number: 40 million euros. That, he argued, is the fair valuation if Al-Ittihad were even to consider a sale.

Inter sit right in the middle of this storm.

According to media figure Mohammed Al-Bakiri, the Italian club have already adjusted their approach in a bid to prise Diaby away during this window. Al-Ittihad, he reported, hesitated over a 40 million euro offer for a permanent transfer. Inter’s response was to shift the structure: a season-long loan proposal worth 28 million euros, designed to ease the immediate outlay while still bringing the player to Milan. Diaby, for his part, is said to favour a clean, permanent exit.

The story becomes even more tangled with another version from newspaper “Al-Riyadiah”. Their reporting claims Al-Ittihad have instead received an Inter offer of 18 million euros plus Albanian midfielder Kristjan Asllani in exchange for Diaby. Different figures, different formulas – but always the same central theme: Inter want the French winger, and Al-Ittihad are not easy sellers.

This is not the first time Diaby’s name has floated around the market. On previous occasions, every rumour ended the same way: he stayed in Jeddah and the project moved on. Now, with Inter circling, Pavard edging towards the exit and the Saudi club under pressure from agents and suitors alike, the next decision will say a lot about where both clubs are heading – and how much they are really willing to gamble in this window.