Inter's Contract Renewals: Dimarco Leads the Charge

The confetti from Inter’s 21st Scudetto has barely settled, but inside the San Siro boardroom the party is over. With Pio Esposito tied down until 2031, the champions are already deep into the next battle: protecting the core of a title-winning squad before contract issues turn into dressing-room noise.

Once the summer window slams shut, the focus shifts in-house. No more bids, no more rumours—just a long list of renewals that will shape the Nerazzurri’s next cycle.

Dimarco, the priority

At the top of that list sits Federico Dimarco. The left-back, crowned MVP of the Scudetto campaign, is under contract until 2027, with an option for an extra year. On paper, Inter have time. In reality, they know exactly how important he has become.

Dimarco is not agitating, not forcing the issue, but he wants his status recognised. His camp is eyeing a salary jump from 4 million to 5 million euros, a figure that mirrors his rise from useful squad player to undisputed pillar of the side and one of the faces of Inter’s resurgence.

The club, relaxed thanks to the existing clause, are ready to talk. Dimarco, for his part, is said to be open to extending further and keeping his future firmly anchored in Milan. The message around Appiano Gentile is clear: his head is on the pitch, but his value can no longer be treated as that of a mere option at left-back. He is part of the project’s spine.

Augusto weighs minutes against money

On the opposite flank of the renewal puzzle stands Carlos Augusto, a different case entirely. Negotiations with the Brazilian have been running for months, with Inter putting a raise on the table that would take him to around 3 million euros.

The question is not just about money. It is about minutes.

With Alessandro Bastoni and Dimarco ahead of him in Cristian Chivu’s plans, Augusto must decide what he wants the next phase of his career to look like. Inter see him as a valuable, versatile piece, someone who can plug multiple gaps across the back line and the flank. He may, however, crave a role that offers more than cameos behind two of the best in the league.

The offer is there. The hierarchy is not changing any time soon. That is the tension at the heart of these talks.

Calhanoglu enters the danger zone

If Dimarco is about reward and Augusto about opportunity, Hakan Calhanoglu’s situation is about urgency. The playmaker has officially entered the final year of his contract, and that changes the tone instantly.

Letting a player of his calibre drift towards free agency is not an option for a club that has rebuilt its identity around control, structure and technical authority in midfield. President Beppe Marotta has already gone public, underlining Calhanoglu’s importance to what he has framed as a “historical” Inter project.

Those words are not casual. They are a signal—to the player, to the market, to the fans—that Inter intend to keep their conductor. The clock is ticking, and this is one renewal they cannot afford to misjudge.

The long game: 2028 and beyond

Behind these immediate dossiers lies a more complex, slower-burning challenge. Inter’s management are staring at a line of key contracts that stretch toward 2028, each one a potential fault line if not handled with care.

Alessandro Bastoni, Marcus Thuram, Manuel Akanji and Piotr Zielinski all sit within that medium-term horizon. They form a large chunk of the team’s core: the defensive anchor, the attacking reference point, the dependable defender, the creative engine. Keeping them aligned with the club’s sporting and financial plans will require timing, foresight and a clear sense of who leads the next iteration of this squad.

Age profiles, physical workloads, wage structure—nothing can be treated in isolation. Inter’s board must juggle the need to reward success with the reality of a dressing room where every new contract sets a benchmark for the next negotiation.

The transfer market may grab the headlines each summer, but for a club chasing sustained dominance, this is where the real work lies. At Inter, the season of contract renewals does not pause; it simply shifts to its next chapter.