Presnel Kimpembe is departing PSG after 20 years with the club. After never fully recovering from his terrible Achilles tendon rupture in February 2023, the central defender no longer had a future at his long-time club. He joined with the Qatar Sports Club.
All PSG supporters feared this day would come. As late as possible. However, it was becoming obvious. With one year left on his contract, Presnel Kimpembe (30 years old) is leaving his long-time club to join Qatar Sports Club, currently 2nd in the Qatar Stars League.
It is the end of a long 20-year love story between the defender and the Rouge et Bleu. “Trained at Paris Saint-Germain, Presnel Kimpembe is joining Qatar Sports Club as part of a permanent transfer, after twenty years spent in Rouge & Bleu. (…) A child of the Paris region, Titi, captain and leader Presnel Kimpembe will forever remain a major player in the history of Paris Saint-Germain. The club and its supporters thank him for all these years and wish him all the best for the rest of his career.”
This is the end of a cycle for the player and his training club. Kimpembe arrived at PSG in 2005 at the age of 10. He learned all his trade there before taking the step up to the first team, something that is rather rare in Paris.
Above all, and we can call this an exception since the arrival of QSI in 2001, he settled in there for the long term, becoming one of the leaders and even the assistant captain behind the unshakeable Marquinhos.
Since his first professional appearance during the 2014/2015 season (against Lens), the left-footer has accumulated 241 matches in all competitions, several seasons as a starter, scoring three goals, and a list of achievements as long as the arm (8 times French champion in particular).
Initially blocked by the Marquinhos-Thiago Silva duo, the Beaumont-sur-Oise native had to wait a long time to earn a place in the starting eleven. He had already become accustomed to it during his early years at the youth academy.
Kimpembe was never a precocious talent, nor one on whom the coaches were banking for a great career. Of his generation (1995), Kingsley Coman, Adrien Rabiot, Mike Maignan, and even Hervin Ongenda are all a step ahead of him.
A hardworking defender who is as hardworking as he is resilient, “Presko” has defied all odds to become a beloved figurehead of the Parc des Princes and PSG over the past decade.
Not many people were counting on him, like that beautiful evening in February 2017 when he had to replace Thiago Silva at short notice. In the very first Champions League match of his career, he smothered Lionel Messi himself.
This 4-0 victory against Barça remains his footballing birth certificate. Everyone knows the rest. With Thiago Silva’s return to the pitch, the number 3 watched the Remontada from the bench.
Nevertheless, his performance made an impression. Didier Deschamps took him with him to Russia where he was crowned world champion in 2018 (28 caps including 2 captaincy). He even started at Euro 2020, but with less success.
His career took a particularly difficult turn with the rupture of his Achilles tendon in February 2023 on the Vélodrome pitch, from which he had a very difficult time recovering. Since his return in November 2024, he had only played 5 parts of matches with PSG (76 minutes).
The advent of Luis Enrique’s gang and the Marquinhos-Pacho hinge finally ended his last illusions. Few people believed in his possible return after such a long absence. As a token of his service, the management had nevertheless granted him an extension (until 2026) in the fall of 2023.
A gesture that the leader of the locker room will not forget and seeing him lift the Champions League last spring, even if he had no influence on the pitch, is ultimately the most beautiful way to turn the page.
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