Ismaël Bennacer leaves AC Milan after seven-year spell

Ismaël Bennacer has left AC Milan after seven years, with the club and midfielder agreeing to terminate a contract that had been valid until June 30, 2027. The 28-year-old exits with 137 Serie A appearances for Milan and a reputation for knitting together the side’s midfield from deep positions.

Born in Arles, France, on Dec. 1, 1997, Bennacer became one of the more identifiable faces of Milan’s modern rebuild. His value lay in details that do not always dominate a scoresheet: work rate, control under pressure and the ability to turn defense into attack with a clean first pass. That made him a useful piece in a team trying to re-establish itself as a consistent force in Italy.

The departure also carries symbolic weight because Bennacer was part of a long spell of continuity in a squad known for turnover. For Algeria, where he remains an important figure, the move will draw attention well beyond Milan’s support base. It also confirms the end of a relationship that had already been stretched by change in roles and movement away from the first team.

AC Milan had already issued an official statement about Bennacer on Feb. 3, 2025, and another on Aug. 7, 2026, as his position at the club evolved. Before the contract split was completed, Bennacer had spent the previous two seasons on loan at Olympique Marseille and Dinamo Zagreb, a sequence that showed his place in the squad had been steadily reduced rather than abruptly cut.

Milan now enters the next phase of its midfield reset. The club can replace Bennacer through the transfer market, promote from within or shift the shape of the team to distribute his responsibilities differently. Bennacer, meanwhile, is expected to continue his career in the Middle East, with Al-Gharafa in Qatar linked to the move, closing a seven-year chapter that once made him central to the club’s recent rise.