"It hurt me," Kimpembe opens up about leaving PSG

In partnership with

Parisfans.fr

·27. Januar 2026

"It hurt me," Kimpembe opens up about leaving PSG

Presnel Kimpembe had to turn a huge page in his career last summer. Trained at Paris Saint-Germain, where he signed his first professional contract in 2014, the 30-year-old defender changed clubs for the first time. After 2 years marked by long injuries and almost non-existent playing time, he indeed signed with Qatar SC. This Tuesday, L’Equipe published an interview with the French international in which he looks back on this particularly difficult period and his decision to leave, with some questions and rediscovered feelings.

Kimpembe: "The first transfer of my life, it changes quite a lot of things."

"Was it strange for you to wear another club’s jersey for the first time in your career? It feels strange, because even when I talk to friends or former teammates, I say 'we' when talking about PSG. I always include myself in it, because my heart is Parisian. But it’s true that the first transfer of my life, to a new club, a new country, a new city, it changes quite a lot of things."

Kimpembe: "It hurt my family, it hurt me."

Did you learn anything from this period? Not being able to train or play with the team hurt me a lot. But I had to take my time, I had to be patient, I had to wait and get on the train when it arrived. There’s also the whole psychological side. It hurt my family, it hurt me. My children asked me a lot of questions: "Dad, why are you here? The team is playing tonight, why aren’t you playing?" Of course, I have to explain to my sons. Maybe they’re not old enough yet to understand why daddy is at home so much. It was a shock for them, even though they were happy. They were unsettled by the fact that they didn’t see me playing on TV. They also went to the Parc des Princes less. On my parents’ and brothers’ side, there were a lot of questions too: "Are you coming back? Why haven’t you come back? I read that you were going to play again." In the end, it’s complicated to explain all the time.

Kimpembe: "It was still hard to swallow"

How do you explain that your return took so long? I’m not a doctor. But it definitely took time. I think the medical staff must have had questions, maybe they were afraid. The coach and the technical staff didn’t necessarily want to take risks. When you come back from such an injury, it’s scary. But a second one, it’s even worse. People must have wondered: can I hold up? Can I play? Can I start? For me, if you ask me, I’ll tell you yes, because I was in the squad and I was fit to play. These are things I had to accept. There are plenty of matches I could have started, I could have played 90 minutes. The proof is, I’m doing it now, so I don’t see why I couldn’t have done it before. It was still hard to swallow, but I accepted it because that’s how it is, those are the coach’s choices.

Kimpembe: "What I liked is that we looked each other in the eye."

How did your departure at the end of the season go? I spoke with Luis Campos this summer, during the Club World Cup. I told him openly that I couldn’t do a third season like that. I wanted to play. Luis understood. On that, the club and he were great. He passed the information on to the club, to the president. We all sat down together. I asked Luis if I could also talk with the coach, and what I liked is that we looked each other in the eye. He was super honest with me too. He told me the club was planning to recruit another defender and that it would be complicated. Then, there were concrete contacts in Italy. Qatar came last and I made that decision. I had opportunities to leave the club before: there was Chelsea, Monaco with Luis Campos already, Saint-Étienne with Christophe Galtier... But it’s the first time everything became so concrete."

It’s clear that Kimpembe went through a nightmarish time. A long injury is already a huge blow for a career and a special stage for a player. The second one can be terrible, with doubts piling up about the future, between the ability to return to the highest level and the fear of another stroke of bad luck. The Parisian Titi had to endure both setbacks in a row.

OneFootball Videos

The defender then had to fight to get back in physical shape and be mentally ready for the demands of the top level. Not to mention the very tough competition at PSG, a point that easily explains why he played so little upon his return. There were doubts about his ability to keep up with the intensity of the top level, and he had to surpass his teammates in sporting guarantees.

We are happy for Kimpembe today, since he has been able to get playing time again. But, while he expresses some confusion about his lack of playing time at the end of his Parisian adventure, it’s clear that the level and pace in Qatar are not the same as at PSG, with Ligue 1 and the Champions League to compete in. He had to leave to relaunch his career with a full-time player role. This allows him to move past doubts and painful moments he mentions, especially with his family.

We fully understand him, and PSG had to be honest and open the door if there was an option. Which was found with Qatar SC, perhaps the club where playing time was most attainable. In any case, it’s nice to see Kimpembe remain so attached to PSG and be grateful for how his departure was handled, even if it was at the end of the worst period of his career. He also understands the coach’s position regarding his special case. We now wish him to be able to enjoy himself.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.