Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard could be eyeing a future in Italy

Just a day after it was leaked that Bayern Munich’s executives were not happy with Benjamin Pavard toying around with an exit, the Frenchman defiantly doubled down in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Not only did Pavard reiterate his openness to leaving Bayern Munich, but he added a caveat this time: He wants to play center-back. Pavard. also indicated that he has heard some very good things about playing in Italy — from a very good friend.

“I’ve been playing in Germany for seven years. I won everything with Bayern Munich. I play football to win and I’m ready to consider new interesting projects, but as a centre-back,” Pavard said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “Olivier always tells me that Italy lives football. He told me about the magic of derbies, the celebration of the fans for the Scudetto. I would love to play with him also because he is a great friend. We’ll see.”

Once Pavard decided he wanted to play center-back permanently, his future in Bavaria become complicated. Lucas Hernandez is nearing the end of his deal, but has not shown any inkling to leaving the club of late, while Dayot Upamecano and Matthijs de Ligt each have long-term deals.

While Pavard has been excellent at right-back this season, his well-known desire to slide inside defensively likely caused Bayern Munich to also acquire Noussair Mazraoui last summer in an effort to ensure the club would have a contingency plan in place.