Inter Uses Bernabeu Visit to Discuss Dimarco's Contract
Inter’s Champions League opener at the Bernabeu is doing double duty tonight. While Simone Inzaghi’s side face Real Madrid in their first European test of the 2026-27 season, the club hierarchy have seized the moment to tackle one of the most delicate dossiers of the autumn: Federico Dimarco’s new contract.
Dimarco absent on the pitch, central in the stands
Inter travel to Spain without Dimarco and Djed Spence, both sidelined through injury, yet the left-back’s presence still looms large over the evening. Dimarco has been training with a support strap on his knee and is not available for the clash that kicks off at 20.00 UK time (21.00 CEST), but his future remains very much in play.
According to Sky Sport Italia, Dimarco’s agent Arturo Canales is in the stands in Madrid and has used the occasion to sit down in person with Inter’s new director of sport, Dario Baccin. No cameras, no microphones, but a crucial face-to-face at a pivotal moment for player and club.
A player of the season, a contract lagging behind
Dimarco’s situation is clear. His current deal runs until June 2028, yet the full-back recently made it known he was still waiting for a concrete proposal to reflect his rise in status. That frustration has now forced Inter to act.
He has every reason to push. The Italy international was named Serie A Player of the Season for 2025-26, a recognition that underlines how far he has climbed from academy product to one of the most decisive wing-backs in Europe. His performances, trophies and leadership have outgrown the terms he originally signed.
The image from last May at San Siro still lingers: Dimarco on the Giuseppe Meazza pitch, Coppa Campioni d’Italia and Coppa Italia in his hands, a symbol of Inter’s domestic dominance and of his own evolution into a reference point for the squad. That version of Dimarco is not just a regular starter. He is a cornerstone, and he wants a contract to match.
New power structure, same priority
For Inter, the meeting in Madrid also serves another purpose: it marks one of the first major negotiations for Baccin in his new role. Long the right-hand man to Piero Ausilio, Baccin has now stepped up as director of sport and must immediately handle one of the club’s most sensitive renewals.
Securing Dimarco is about more than numbers on a pay slip. It is a statement about continuity at a time of internal change. Inter cannot afford to lose leverage over a player who combines homegrown identity, peak form and market value.
The Bernabeu will decide the first chapter of Inter’s European journey this season. What happens in the stands, between Baccin and Canales, could prove just as decisive for the club’s medium-term future.
