Inter cools its interest in Ivan Perišić: a return to Milan is no longer part of the current plans
In recent weeks, Ivan Perišić has made it very clear that he would gladly play for Inter again, the club where he spent the longest and one of the most successful periods of his career. However, according to a report by La Gazzetta dello Sport published on 21 July 2026, the Milan club is currently not working on his return and no longer considers him a priority solution for the wing-back positions. This brings to an end, at least at this stage of the summer transfer window, a story that seemed considerably more realistic in January. At that time, the 37-year-old Croatian international was close to returning to the Giuseppe Meazza stadium, but PSV refused to release one of its most experienced players. Six months later, the circumstances are different, and Inter has turned its attention to other profiles.
Perišić's desire was not hidden behind the usual diplomatic wording. After Croatia's match against Ghana at the 2026 World Cup, he openly said that he had been close to Inter in January, but PSV had not allowed him to leave. He added that the Milan club's officials knew where they could find him, effectively issuing a public invitation to renew their cooperation. In the meantime, he repeatedly highlighted his connection with Inter on social media, but according to the information currently available, those messages did not change the decision of the sporting management. There is no confirmation of new negotiations, an offer to PSV or a concrete attempt to reach an agreement with the player.
PSV stopped the January return
The winter transfer window offered a completely different picture. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter considered Perišić at the time as a short-term, financially acceptable and immediately deployable solution following Denzel Dumfries' injury. The Croatian footballer knew the club, the dressing room, the demands of Serie A and the system of play involving wing-backs who must participate equally seriously in attack and defence. Such a profile reduced the risk of adaptation, which is particularly important when reinforcements are sought in the middle of a season and there is not much time to develop an understanding with teammates. According to the Italian newspaper, the idea was for Perišić to arrive as an experienced player capable of immediately filling the gap on the flank.
The key obstacle was not Perišić's willingness, but PSV's position. The Eindhoven club did not want to lose an important member of the team during a sensitive part of the season, especially while it was competing for domestic trophies and participating in European competitions. After the World Cup, Perišić confirmed that the Dutch club had blocked his departure, meaning the negotiations did not reach their final stage. At that moment, Inter was looking for a temporary solution related to a specific injury, while PSV had a player under contract who fulfilled an important sporting and mentoring role. When the January window ended, the main reason why the return had been urgent also disappeared.
That difference in timing is now decisive. What looked like a rational intervention at the beginning of the year to fill a weakened flank turned into a broader question of the team's long-term planning during the summer. Inter no longer has to react in the same way as it did in the middle of the competitive season, but can choose from a larger number of candidates, comparing age, price, potential for further development and tactical adaptability. La Gazzetta does not report that there has been a conflict between the club and Perišić, but simply concludes that their sporting priorities no longer coincide. In other words, the decision concerns the team's current plan rather than an assessment of his overall contribution to Inter.
Social media messages did not open the door
During the World Cup, Perišić further fuelled speculation with a series of posts connected to Inter. After Petar Sučić's goal against Ghana, he posted a photograph of them together and added two hearts in the colours of the Milan club, attracting the attention of the Italian media and supporters. He then shared Inter's post about the continuity of the club's players in World Cup finals since 1982, also recalling his own appearance in the 2018 final. Combined with his public statement about the January negotiations, such gestures gave the impression that the player was actively trying to reopen the subject of a return.
However, public affection and an emotional connection with the club are not the same as a sporting decision. According to La Gazzetta's report, Inter continues to consider other options for the wide positions and has not yet responded with a concrete move. In professional football, the moment at which a particular player emerges as a solution is especially important: Perišić met an urgent need in January, while in the summer the club can establish different criteria. His experience, familiarity with the environment and relatively low adaptation risk remain obvious advantages, but they may not be enough if Inter is looking for a younger player for a multi-year project.
It is important to distinguish media signals from official information. Neither Inter nor PSV had announced by 22 July that they were negotiating a transfer, and there is also no official confirmation that the Milan club has submitted an offer. La Gazzetta bases its assessment on the current state of Inter's planning and states that Perišić is no longer among the solutions being actively considered. That does not mean the situation cannot change during the transfer window, particularly if there are departures, injuries or unsuccessful negotiations with other candidates. Nevertheless, according to the available information, a return is currently not on the table.
Inter plans the next cycle after a successful season
The context of Inter's decision is important for understanding the change in direction. Under Cristian Chivu, the club won the Italian league title and the Coppa Italia in the 2025/26 season, while Inter's official website states that the Romanian coach became the first manager in the club's history to win a domestic double in his first season in charge. In June 2026, Inter extended Chivu's contract until 2028, confirming the continuity of the sporting project. The summer transfer window is therefore not merely a search for short-term replacements, but part of the planning for a team that wants to remain at the top of Serie A and stay competitive in European competitions.
In such a situation, age becomes one of the elements, although not the only criterion. Perišić turned 37 on 2 February, and his physical capacity remains at a high level, as confirmed by his performances for PSV and the Croatian national team. However, a club planning several seasons ahead may prefer a player with greater future market value and a longer period of potential development. This is the usual tension between a proven veteran and investment in a younger profile: the former brings reliability, experience and an immediate solution, while the latter carries greater initial risk but also the possibility of longer-term benefits.
Perišić's versatility would still be tactically valuable. During his career, he has played as a left and right winger, a wing-back in a system with three centre-backs, a traditional full-back and a forward making runs into finishing positions. He uses both feet equally well, is dangerous in the air and is capable of creating chances with crosses or finishing moves inside the penalty area. Inter's official statistics state that he made 258 appearances and scored 58 goals for the club, while in 2022 he was the club's leading assist provider over the period beginning with the 2007/08 season. Such a legacy explains why the idea of his return attracted so much attention, but also why the decision to take a different path is not a simple sentimental judgement.
Perišić is not a player in decline at PSV
Inter's decision does not mean that Perišić has been left without a stable sporting environment. PSV extended his contract until the summer of 2027 in June 2025, and sporting director Earnest Stewart highlighted his example of professionalism and his contribution to the development of younger players. In its official profile, the Dutch club states that Perišić made 32 appearances, scored ten goals and registered eight assists in his first season. Those figures confirm that he was not signed only for his experience and authority in the dressing room, but also for his concrete contribution on the pitch.
His importance continued in the 2025/26 season. At the beginning of April, the Croatian Football Federation announced that PSV had mathematically secured a third consecutive Dutch league title, Perišić's second in Eindhoven. During the closing stages of the championship, Perišić continued to play an important role, and in May the Croatian Football Federation stated that he had scored seven goals and registered ten assists in the Eredivisie. In one of the final league matches, he wore the captain's armband, scored twice and was named player of the match. Such performances explain why PSV was unwilling to approve his departure during the winter.
Perišić also retained an important role in the Croatian national team. He was part of the squad at the 2026 World Cup, and in the round of 32 against Portugal he scored his seventh World Cup goal. According to the Croatian Football Federation, this made him Croatia's record goalscorer at World Cup final tournaments, ahead of Davor Šuker. FIFA listed him among Croatia's key players on the tournament's official website, while PSV's official profile records more than 700 professional appearances during his career. These figures show that the interest in him is not based solely on the past, but also on his ability to remain productive at the highest level during the late stage of his career.
The special bond with Inter dates back to 2015
Perišić joined Inter from Wolfsburg in 2015 and quickly became one of the team's most recognisable players. His first spell in Milan lasted four seasons, after which he joined Bayern Munich on loan in 2019/20. After spending a season on loan in Germany, he returned to Inter and adapted to Antonio Conte's demands in the role of a left wing-back. That transformation demonstrated his tactical flexibility and willingness to accept a different role for the sake of the team's success.
With Inter, he won Serie A in the 2020/21 season, followed by the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup in the next campaign. The club's official archive records 212 league appearances and 51 goals, 29 European appearances with two goals, as well as 17 matches in the domestic cup and Super Cup with five goals. In total, he accumulated 258 appearances and 58 goals in an Inter shirt. He left in the summer of 2022, when he signed for Tottenham after the expiry of his contract, but remained strongly connected to his former club and its supporters.
Because of that history, every suggestion of a return has a greater impact than an ordinary transfer rumour. Perišić would not arrive as an unknown player who needed the club's culture, the pressure of San Siro or the expectations associated with competing for trophies explained to him. At the same time, the return of familiar names always carries the risk of comparisons with their best years. Inter must assess whether the current team needs precisely that type of experience or whether it is more important to create space for players who can become leading figures in the next cycle. According to the current report from Milan, the second option has prevailed.
What comes next for Perišić and PSV
Perišić's contractual situation gives PSV a strong negotiating position. His contract runs until the summer of 2027, meaning the Dutch champions are under no obligation to accept an unfavourable offer or allow the player to leave without compensation. As Perišić has been important both as a goalscorer and as an assist provider during the previous two seasons, any potential departure would have to be aligned with the club's sporting interests. PSV continues to list him as a member of the first team for the 2026/27 season, and no information about a contract termination or an agreed transfer had been announced by 22 July.
Inter's priority is now to search for solutions that better match its current strategy. La Gazzetta does not exclude every theoretical possibility of a change, but it clearly states that the club is currently heading in a different direction. Plans can change quickly during transfer windows, particularly following the sale of an important player or an unexpected injury, but no such development has yet been officially confirmed. Without a new initiative from Milan, Perišić's public messages remain an expression of personal desire rather than an announcement of a transfer.
The most realistic scenario at this moment is for him to continue his career in Eindhoven, where he has a contract, sporting importance and the club's confidence. A return to Inter, which was close to being completed in January, has now been postponed indefinitely and is no longer part of the Milan club's immediate plan. The emotional connection between Perišić and Inter has not disappeared, but market logic and the team's changed needs currently carry greater weight. Until an official offer emerges or there is another change in Inter's squad, the story of another chapter in the black-and-blue shirt remains in the realm of possibility rather than a concrete agreement.
Sources:
- La Gazzetta dello Sport – report from 21 July 2026 stating that Inter is no longer working on Perišić's return and covering his social media messages (link)
- La Gazzetta dello Sport – Perišić's statement after the match between Croatia and Ghana regarding the January negotiations and PSV's decision not to let him leave (link)
- PSV Eindhoven – official announcement regarding the extension of Perišić's contract until the summer of 2027 and his role in the team (link)
- PSV Eindhoven – official player profile containing information about appearances, goals, assists and professional experience (link)
- FC Internazionale Milano – official archive of Perišić's appearances, goals and trophies won in an Inter shirt (link)
- FC Internazionale Milano – official announcement regarding Chivu's contract until 2028 and the continuity of the sporting project (link)
- FC Internazionale Milano – information about Chivu's domestic double in the 2025/26 season (link)
- Croatian Football Federation – confirmation of PSV's Dutch league title and Perišić's second consecutive trophy in Eindhoven (link)
- Croatian Football Federation – information about Perišić's seven league goals and ten assists in the 2025/26 season (link)
- Croatian Football Federation – report on Perišić's seventh World Cup goal and Croatian national-team record (link)