The Frenchman was not bought out by Olympique Marseille and will officially return to being a Nerazzurri member from July 1st. But only momentarily. At the origins of his break with the environment and the Inter locker room
It’s a short step from “Benji the Inter fan” to “Pavard the Hater”. The French defender, who will officially return to being an Inter member from July 1st after OM’s failure to redeem him, denied via social media the accusations of being a “traitor” that circulated a summer ago and again recently by posting the lyrics of a song: “Never been a hater, I don’t care enough”. Translated: never been a hater, I don’t care enough. But for what reason? What really happened last summer when the Nerazzurri management decided to send the Frenchman to Marseille and focus on Akanji? The causes of the farewell all come together in a nice mix of different ingredients, but let’s proceed in order.
two reasons… plus one
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The first aspect, as natural as it is, leads to the field. Pavard landed in Milan in the summer of 2023 after his experience at Bayern, with a very strong desire to wear the Nerazzurri on his part and an equally clear conviction on the part of Simone Inzaghi, Inter coach at the time, who considered the Frenchman ideal to dominate Serie A and take that further step in Europe that had been missed a few weeks earlier in Istanbul against Manchester City. In Italy the first season went great with the conquest of the second star and in Europe less so, while in the second Inter’s progress stopped again in the final but this time against PSG. And once they said goodbye to Inzaghi, the Nerazzurri management chose Chivu, who however did not see Pavard as central to his type of football, preferring a profile like that of Akanji. Time has said that the Romanian was right. Not just a tactical question, however, because Pavard received (indeed he will still receive) a very high salary at Inter, among the heaviest of the entire Nerazzurri squad: 5 million net per season. This is why the goodbye was also positive for the club’s coffers, happy to save themselves a considerable sum. What then, at least apparently, led to the definitive break, is neither a technical nor an economic question.
that padel
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While Inter was sweating in America at the Club World Cup, which began just after the disastrous Champions League final against PSG which had broken the legs and morale of the entire Nerazzurri group, Pavard avoided leaving because he was technically injured. All largely legitimate, mind you, especially after such a stressful season from a physical and psychological point of view like that of 2024-25. If only on social media, “Benji the Inter fan” posted photographs portraying him peacefully on holiday in Sardinia while playing padel (in the company of AC Milan player Theo Hernandez). An attitude that nobody in the locker room liked, so much so that after the elimination from the Club World Cup, captain Lautaro sent a clear message, directed not only to Hakan Calhanoglu as it seemed at the time: “I saw things that I didn’t like, whoever doesn’t want to stay at Inter must leave”. No sooner said than done. Pavard had said goodbye to Milan on the last day of the transfer window last summer to return to his homeland and compete for the chance of being called up to the World Cup with France. The season in Marseille, however, was not positive and OM decided not to exercise the right of redemption set at around 15 million euros. This is why now Pavard – and his salary of 5 million a year – will return to Inter. Most likely with the effect of a comet.
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