End of an Era: Piero Ausilio Poised to Leave Inter Milan After 29 Years

One of Italian football's most enduring behind-the-scenes figures appears to be heading for the exit door. According to Football Italia, multiple sources in Italy report that Inter Milan sporting director Piero Ausilio is set to leave the Nerazzurri, bringing the curtain down on a remarkable 29-year association with the club. Ausilio's story at Inter is one of extraordinary longevity in an industry notorious for its volatility. Having joined the club's offices in the late 1990s, he worked his way up through the youth sector and technical staff before assuming the sporting director role, becoming one of the chief architects of the club's modern era. During his time in the transfer hot seat, Ausilio helped oversee squad-building projects that delivered Inter's return to the summit of Italian football, including the Scudetto-winning campaigns that ended the club's long title drought, as well as Champions League final runs that restored the Nerazzurri's place among Europe's elite. His ability to extract value from the market — blending shrewd free transfers, astute loan moves, and ambitious permanent signings — became a hallmark of the club's strategy, particularly during the financially constrained years under previous ownership. The reported departure comes at a delicate moment for Inter. With the club now under the stewardship of Oaktree Capital and the first-team squad in need of renewal, losing an executive with Ausilio's institutional knowledge represents a significant transition at the very top of the organisation. The timing also coincides with an unprecedented summer on the global stage. The FIFA World Cup 2026, hosted across the United States, Mexico and Canada, will dominate the football calendar from June, compressing the transfer window and forcing clubs to plan earlier than ever. Inter's hierarchy will now need to identify a successor capable of navigating a chaotic market in which several of their stars — and their potential targets — could see their valuations soar or plummet on the back of a single tournament performance. For Ausilio himself, the exit marks the end of an era defined by loyalty in a sport that rarely rewards it. Few executives anywhere in world football can claim nearly three decades of continuous service to a single institution, surviving multiple ownership changes, countless managerial appointments and the relentless pressure that comes with running recruitment for one of Italy's grandest clubs. As it stands, neither Inter nor Ausilio have officially confirmed the separation, and the exact timing of his departure — whether immediate or at the end of the current campaign — remains unclear. But if the reports from Italy prove accurate, San Siro will soon bid farewell to one of the last true institutional figures of the modern Inter story. Source: Football Italia