Nice move from OM with Pavard, Rabiot leaves Ligue 1, Donnarumma on hold... What to remember from the end of the transfer window

Without the TV rights windfall due to the end of the contract between the Professional Football League and the British platform DAZN, French teams had until 8:00 p.m. to adjust their squads in a very delicate financial context and try to make some last-minute bargains while offloading their high-value players.

But for PSG and OM, it was above all a question of putting an end to two saga which had punctuated the start of the season and threatened, if unsuccessful, to disrupt life in the dressing room.

Donnarumma's situation, pushed towards the exit by Luis Enrique, was thus about to settle down and the Italian goalkeeper, hero of Paris' victorious campaign in the Champions League, should sign with Manchester City with whom he has had an agreement for several days.

After passing his medical, "Gigio" is just waiting for Pep Guardiola's team to finally find a solution for Brazilian Ederson, in order to free up a place for him. This would be a godsend for the 26-year-old Nazionale goalkeeper, who no longer had a future at PSG with the recruitment of Lucas Chevalier this summer.

Four returning world champions -

In addition to Donnarumma, PSG also struggled to get rid of other players left out by the Spanish coach, such as Randal Kolo Muani, who was loaned to Tottenham, Carlos Soler, who moved to Real Sociedad, and Marco Asensio, who joined Fenerbahçe.

Rabiot also experienced a downgrade in Marseille after an altercation with his teammate Jonathan Rowe following the defeat in Rennes on August 15 (1-0). Placed on the transfer list by his management after this episode, the 30-year-old French international (53 caps, 6 goals), a key recruit for OM in 2024 from Juventus Turin, returned to Italy by signing a three-year contract with AC Milan.

The French midfielder will therefore once again work with Massimiliano Allegri, who had him under his orders when he was in charge of Juve.

Although Marseille lost a key player in Rabiot, they made up for it by signing Pavard on loan from Inter Milan. He is the fourth 2018 World Cup winner to return to France this summer, following Paul Pogba (Monaco), Olivier Giroud (Lille), and Florian Thauvin (Lens).

With Pavard, OM are getting an experienced player (29 years old, 55 caps, 5 goals), who will have the task of stabilizing a rearguard that is quite worrying after three Ligue 1 matches. The OM decision-makers also hope that with this arrival they will somewhat calm the discontent of the supporters, furious at the outcome of the Rabiot psychodrama.

Lyon acquires a center forward

Launched into a frenetic final day of transfer window, OM also enlisted the Italian-Brazilian left-back Emerson Palmieri, the Moroccan defender Nayef Aguerd and the Danish attacking midfielder Matt O'Rileya.

Rennes, for its part, has set its sights on Monaco's Swiss striker Breel Embolo. ASM, which let Moroccan Eliesse Ben Seghir leave for Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday, has kept its star player Maghnes Akliouche, who has been called up for the first time in his career to the French national team for the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine on Friday in Wroclaw (Poland), and Iceland on September 9 at the Parc des Princes.

Ligue 1, on the other hand, lost Kosovar star Edon Zhegrova, who left Lille with a year left on his contract to join Juventus Turin. Juve beat OM to the post to land the 26-year-old winger for €14.3 million.

Lyon, forced to say goodbye to its striker Georges Mikautadze, sold for 36 million euros to Villarreal to ease its finances, has completed its transfer window with the signing of Uruguayan international center forward Martin Satriano, on loan from Lens.