OM: The key detail of Pavard’s loan revealed by Fabrizio Romano

Benjamin Pavard, a 2018 World Cup winner, arrives on a paid loan from Inter (€2.5m) with an option to buy between €15m and €16m. At 29, he brings massive experience (Bayern, Inter, Champions League) and valuable versatility: centre-back or right-back. On paper, it’s exactly the profile that was missing to shore up a backline too often under fire.

The Pavard deal: calculated and controlled

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed it: the option to buy is not mandatory. A detail that changes everything. If the fit doesn’t work, OM gets out unscathed. If Pavard establishes himself, the move becomes a masterstroke. This structure gives the club rare flexibility, which has often suffered the opposite in the past.

🚨🔵⚪️ The buy option clause for Benjamin Pavard at OM is not mandatory in any case and worth €16m. pic.twitter.com/sO5TJeIsI3

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 2, 2025

The backdrop: the Ordóñez failure

But behind this success there’s also an admission: they missed out on Joel Ordóñez. The 21-year-old Ecuadorian defender was a priority target, but Bruges refused to let him go. According to several sources close to the deal, the Olympian management even reassured his camp: OM will come back with another bid as early as January.

That’s also why Pavard is arriving on loan rather than via a permanent transfer: to keep financial and sporting room to maneuver for the winter.

On the sporting side, a double gamble

With Pavard, OM immediately shores up its central defense. But between AFCON (Aguerd), recurring injuries (Pavard) and likely suspensions (Medina), there will still be plenty to manage. Bringing in Ordóñez in January—young, promising, and already on De Zerbi’s radar—thus remains a missing piece of the puzzle.

A two-track strategy

In short, Pavard’s arrival doesn’t erase the Ordóñez setback, but dresses it up with an elegant solution: an elite reinforcement right now, and the promise of a bet on the future this winter. For us supporters, one burning question remains: Will Pavard be the leader we expect at the Vélodrome, or just a stopgap before the arrival of the real gamble of tomorrow?