Pavard made his international debut for France in November 2017, and won the2018 FIFA World Cup and the2020–21 UEFA Nations League, also featuring atUEFA Euro 2020 and the2022 World Cup. He is also remembered for his volley in the round of 16 againstArgentina in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which was voted as the goal of the tournament.
Pavard first joined the youth ranks of his hometown club, US Jeumont in 2002; former France international strikerJean-Pierre Papin also began his career at the club.[5]
Spotted byJean-Michel Vandamme, Pavard joinedLille's academy at the age of nine.[5] He made hisLigue 1 debut on 31 January 2015 againstFC Nantes, playing the full game in a 1–1 away draw.[6] Pavard made 21 league appearances across two seasons for Lille, before leaving the club in 2016.[5]
Pavard made hisBundesliga debut on 19 August in a 2–0 loss atHertha BSC.[12] He scored his first goal in the Bundesliga with a back header on 29 October in a 3–0 win overSC Freiburg at theMercedes-Benz Arena.[13][5] He extended his contract with Stuttgart on 20 December 2017 until 30 June 2021.[14]
He was one of only four players to feature in every single second of the2017–18 Bundesliga season.[10] He played in several positions, namelyright-back,centre-back,defensive midfielder andright wing, but after the appointment ofTayfun Korkut as manager in January 2018 he was exclusively a centre back; the team conceded 10 goals in their last 14 games as they went from near the relegation places to finish 7th, only just missing out on aUEFA Europa League place.[10]
In2018–19, Pavard was again a regular as Stuttgart fought to avoid relegation all season, with his team ultimately going down after losing to1. FC Union Berlin in the relegation play-offs.[15]
On 9 January 2019,Bayern Munich confirmed Pavard would join the club for the 2019–20 season, signing a five-year contract lasting until 30 June 2024.[16]
On 26 October 2022, he scored his firstUEFA Champions League goal in a 3–0 away win againstBarcelona.[20] A week later, he scored a goal in a 2–0 victory againstInter Milan, in which Bayern Munich finished top of theirGroup C with six wins from six matches for the second consecutive season.[21] On 11 March 2023, he scored a first-halfbrace in a 5–3 home win overFC Augsburg.[22] Pavard made 163 competitive appearances for Bayern, scoring 12 goals in the process.[23]
On 30 August 2023,Serie A sideInter Milan signed Pavard on a five-year deal worth €30 million, which could rise up to €32 million with add-ons.[24] Hence, he became Serie A's most expensive signing in the 2023 summer transfer window.[25] Pavard made his official club debut on 24 September, starting in Inter's 1–0 win away toEmpoli.[26] On 4 November, he suffered a dislocated kneecap during a match againstAtalanta, ruling him out of action for roughly six weeks.[27] On 22 April 2024, Pavard assisted a goal in Inter's 2–1 victory over rivalsAC Milan that confirmed his side as the season's Serie A champions.[28]
On 16 April 2025, Pavard scored his first goal for Inter in a 2–2 draw against his former club Bayern Munich in the second leg of theUEFA Champions League quarter-finals, helping his side progress by winning 4–3 on aggregate.[29]
On 17 May 2018, he was called up to the 23-man French squad for the2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[34] On 16 June, Pavard made hisWorld Cup debut in a 2–1 victory overAustralia.[35] On 30 June, Pavard scored his first international goal, a half-volley from outside the penalty area, in a 4–3 victory overArgentina in the World Cup's round of 16.[36] The goal was later voted as goal of the tournament[37] and nominated for thePuskas Award of the year.[38] He also became the first French defender to score a goal in the World Cup sinceLilian Thuram scored againstCroatia in the1998 semi-final.[39] Pavard won the World Cup, after starting all of France's games except for their last group match againstDenmark.[40]
AtUEFA Euro 2020, Pavard suffered a head injury in France's opening 1–0 win overGermany, but continued playing. He said after the game that he felt "a little knocked out for 10 to 15 seconds". This appeared to break UEFA's protocol that a player showing signs of concussion should be withdrawn from the match, whether or not he or the manager agreed with it. After analysing reports by the French team's doctors, UEFA concluded that Pavard never lost consciousness and it was right for him to play on.[41][42]
On 17 October 2023, Pavard was handed the captain'sarmband for the first time afterKylian Mbappé was substituted off during the final few minutes of a friendly between France andScotland, which France won 4–1.[45] In the match, Pavard scored France's first two goals, both of which were headers, becoming the first player to score two headed goals in the same game for France sinceZinedine Zidane in the1998 FIFA World Cup final.[46]
^"Décret du 31 décembre 2018 portant promotion et nomination" [Decree of 31 December 2018 on promotion and appointment].Journal officiel de la République française [Official Journal of the French Republic] (in French).2019 (1). 1 January 2019. PRER1835394D. Retrieved15 March 2025.
