Dinamo wants to keep Ismaël Bennacer, but only with a new agreement with Milan
Zvonimir Boban has confirmed that Dinamo still wants to keep Ismaël Bennacer, but not under the financial terms agreed last summer during the loan from Milan. According to a report by Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport from June 20, 2026, the Zagreb club will not activate the existing €10 million purchase option, but is waiting for the outcome between the Algerian midfielder and the Rossoneri. Boban said that Dinamo wants to continue working with Bennacer, but only if the player first resolves his contractual status with Milan. "We want to keep Ismaël Bennacer, but we are waiting for him to be able to resolve his contract with Milan. If he resolves the situation with the Rossoneri, we would be the ideal team for the continuation of his career," Boban said according to Gazzetta. In doing so, Dinamo opened the door to the stay of a player whose reputation is exceptionally significant for Croatian football, but at the same time clearly drew a line regarding the amount currently set as the purchase clause.
The key lies in the contract that ties Bennacer to Milan until 2027
Bennacer arrived at Dinamo in September 2025 on loan with the possibility of a permanent transfer, which both Dinamo and AC Milan officially confirmed at the time. Milan stated in its announcement that the Algerian midfielder had moved to GNK Dinamo Zagreb on loan with an option for the transfer to become permanent, while Dinamo announced that it was a one-year loan with a purchase right. Such a model is common in European transfers because it allows the club bringing in the player to make a sporting assessment during the season, while giving the parent club a chance to retain control over the further outcome. In Bennacer's case, however, the obstacle is not only the size of the fee but also his earnings at Milan, which according to Gazzetta are around four million euros net per year. AC Milan officially announced back in January 2023 that Bennacer had extended his contract until June 30, 2027, so the player and the Milan club must find a solution before any more favorable arrangement with Dinamo.
According to Gazzetta, Bennacer has not played in a Milan shirt for around a year and a half, and his last appearance for the Rossoneri came in the city derby on February 2, 2025. The Italian newspaper states that a mutual contract termination has not been ruled out, but also that Milan will first try to assess whether it can generate revenue from his departure. Such a position is understandable from the perspective of a club that still has a player under contract for another year and wants to avoid losing him for free if there is market interest. On the other hand, Dinamo's message shows that the club from Maksimir is not ready to enter into a deal at the originally agreed amount, but would consider it only if the financial risk becomes significantly lower. That is why the current case does not boil down to the classic question of whether Dinamo wants the player, but to whether Milan, Bennacer and Dinamo will manage to align three different interests.
Boban does not hide his interest, but Dinamo draws a financial line
Boban's statement is important because it removes any doubt about Dinamo's sporting interest. According to available information, Dinamo is not writing Bennacer off and is not closing the door on him, but wants a different deal structure. Such an approach reflects the broader logic of club management: a player with serious experience from Serie A and European competitions can bring quality and authority, but only if the total cost of the transfer, salary and contractual obligations remains sustainable. Gazzetta writes that Boban has long been a great admirer of Bennacer and recalls that Boban himself was among the key people in his arrival at Milan in 2019. That connection is also the reason why Dinamo still hopes for a possible outcome, even though the existing purchase clause has not been activated.
In April 2025, Dinamo officially announced that Boban was returning to the club as President of the Management Board, and his mandate in that role began on June 1 of the same year. The club stated at the time that Boban would focus primarily on sporting matters, while Zvonimir Manenica retained the financial portfolio on the Management Board. In practice, this means that Boban's opinion on the player's profile and the structure of the team is particularly important, but it cannot be separated from financial discipline. Bennacer's case shows precisely the intersection of these two levels: the sporting argument for his stay exists, but the transfer formula must be adapted to the club's real possibilities. Dinamo is therefore sending the message that it wants quality, but not at any price.
The season in Zagreb did not bring major playing time, but the interest has not disappeared
Bennacer's loan at Dinamo had a specific context from the first day. On September 5, 2025, the club announced that the player had successfully passed a medical examination in Zagreb and become a new member of the team, but at the same time stated that until February he would be eligible only for domestic league and cup competitions because he joined after the deadline for registering the squad for the league phase of the Europa League. This immediately limited his European role in the first part of the season and reduced the space for continuity on the biggest stage. According to Global Sports Archive data, Bennacer made 19 appearances for Dinamo in domestic competitions in the 2025/2026 season, 18 of them in the SuperSport HNL and one in the cup. In the league, according to the same source, he scored one goal, recorded two assists and played 971 minutes.
Those numbers show that Bennacer did not have the dominant playing time that might perhaps have been expected from a player of his name, but they do not necessarily mean in themselves that the sporting assessment was negative. Dinamo got a player who had to fit into an already formed team, arrived from a different competitive rhythm and could not immediately be used in all European obligations. According to Gazzetta, he did not play much in Zagreb, but Boban's desire to keep him stems from the belief that Bennacer, if he stabilizes and remains within a more favorable contractual framework, could have a bigger role. In such situations, clubs often distinguish short-term impact from long-term assessment of quality. Bennacer's experience, technical security and habit of playing under pressure remain arguments that can be important for Dinamo's midfield.
A player with experience of Milan, Serie A and the Algerian national team
Bennacer's football résumé explains why his arrival at Dinamo in September 2025 attracted special attention. In presenting him, Dinamo emphasized that he was an Algerian international and AC Milan midfielder, with rich experience in one of Europe's strongest leagues. The club stated that in Milan's shirt he had recorded 137 appearances in Serie A and European competitions and that with the Rossoneri he won the Italian league title in the 2021/2022 season. Dinamo also recalled that Bennacer was part of the Milan team that played in the Champions League semi-final after he helped them advance with an important goal against Napoli in the quarter-final. Such details are not just biographical decoration, but explain why the player remains interesting even after reduced playing time.
Before arriving at Dinamo, Bennacer passed through several major football environments. According to Dinamo's presentation, he was born on December 1, 1997 in the French city of Arles, played in the youth categories for Arles and Arsenal, was briefly on loan at Tours, and from 2017 played in Italy, first for Empoli and then for Milan. In its official 2019 profile, AC Milan stated that Bennacer had been one of Empoli's key players in the season of their return to Serie A, and then remained important after the club moved into the highest tier of Italian football. His international status was further strengthened at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, where Algeria won the title and Bennacer was named the best player of the tournament. In its official presentation, Dinamo also emphasized that in the final against Senegal he assisted the winning goal in the 1:0 result.
For Milan, the decision is both a sporting and a financial issue
Milan's part of the story is just as important as Dinamo's interest. The Milan club has the player under contract until the end of June 2027, but according to Italian reports Bennacer is not at the forefront of the sporting project. Gazzetta states that the player has already been fully amortized in Milan's accounts, which can make a more flexible outcome easier, but that does not mean the Rossoneri will automatically give up the possibility of earning money. If a buyer appears who would take over part of the cost or pay a fee, Milan will have a reason to wait. If the market does not offer such an exit, a mutual termination could become a more realistic option, especially if the player wants to find an environment in which he will have a clearer role.
For Bennacer, the decision is also complex. By staying at Milan, he would formally keep a contract with a higher salary, but he could remain outside a serious competitive role if the sporting situation does not change. A move to Dinamo under different conditions would mean a smaller financial framework, but potentially greater stability and more space for continuity. Boban's statement that Dinamo would be the "ideal team" for the continuation of his career should be read precisely in that context. It is not only about the sentimental connection of a former Milan player and director with a midfielder he values, but about the assessment that Dinamo could offer an environment in which Bennacer can reassert himself.
What Bennacer's stay would mean for Dinamo
If an agreement were nevertheless to open up, Dinamo would have the possibility of keeping a midfielder whose career includes a Serie A title, appearances in the Champions League and the status of an Algeria international. Such a profile is not common in club football outside the top five leagues, especially when it comes to a player who is still at an age at which, provided there is good health and competitive continuity, he could have several important seasons. From a tactical point of view, Bennacer can play as a defensive or central midfielder, and his greatest value lies in ball control, playing out of pressure and connecting the lines. By keeping him, Dinamo would gain an additional option in midfield, but would also have to assess how such a player fits into the existing hierarchy, the development of younger midfielders and the overall wage structure. That is why it is understandable that the club is not rushing to activate an expensive clause.
For Dinamo, this case is also a broader signal of transfer policy under Boban's leadership. Bringing in Bennacer was ambitious and showed a readiness to use the international connections and reputation of the club's leader. But the current phase shows the other side of the same approach: ambition must be tied to terms that do not burden long-term operations. If Milan and Bennacer reach an agreement that would make the player more available, Dinamo could return to the negotiating table. If that does not happen, the existing €10 million purchase option, according to available information, remains too high for the plan the club currently wants to implement.
The outcome depends on Milan and the player
As of June 20, 2026, there is no official confirmation that Bennacer has terminated his contract with Milan, nor that Dinamo has agreed a new model for his stay. The only thing that is clear is that the original framework of the loan with a purchase option is not automatically continuing into a permanent transfer. Boban's message can therefore be interpreted as a public setting of conditions: interest exists, but Dinamo is waiting for Milan and Bennacer first to agree on their own relationship. In the meantime, Milan will weigh whether it can generate revenue from a player who still has one year left on his contract, while Bennacer will have to assess what is more important to him in the next phase of his career. Dinamo, according to Boban's words, is ready to be the solution, but only if the financial and contractual framework becomes significantly more favorable than the current one.
Sources:
- La Gazzetta dello Sport - report from June 20, 2026 on Boban's statement, the purchase option, Bennacer's contract with Milan and the possible transfer outcome (link)
- GNK Dinamo - official announcement on the arrival of Ismaël Bennacer on a one-year loan with a purchase right (link)
- GNK Dinamo - official announcement on the medical examination, player status, career and restriction of appearances in European competitions (link)
- AC Milan - official announcement on Bennacer's loan to Dinamo with an option for a permanent transfer (link)
- AC Milan - official announcement on the extension of Bennacer's contract with Milan until June 30, 2027 (link)
- Global Sports Archive - statistical overview of Bennacer's appearances, minutes, goals and assists for Dinamo in the 2025/2026 season (link)
- GNK Dinamo - official announcement on Zvonimir Boban's return to the club and takeover of the role of President of the Management Board (link)