Official – Kimpembe finds a new club via an unusual route | OneFootball

Presnel Kimpembe, the 30-year-old French centre-back now tied to Al-Kharaitiyat, is continuing his career far from Paris Saint-Germain. As the Qatari club announced on its official account, the 2018 World Cup winner is joining Qatar’s second division after spending just one season at Qatar SC.

One clarification is needed first: Kimpembe is 30, not 32. The former Paris player is above all coming off a career path brutally disrupted by his Achilles tendon rupture in February 2023. Nearly two years without playing, a comeback limited to a few appearances, and then a move to Qatar SC have profoundly changed his status. He did not just lose his place at PSG: he lost the continuity, visibility, and market value that previously came with being a French international defender.

His arrival at Al-Kharaitiyat, in Qatar’s second division, confirms the scale of this sporting decline. In light of this development, Luis Enrique’s decision to no longer include Kimpembe in his plans now appears understandable, however harsh it may be on a human level. The coach had to build with defenders capable of performing consistently at the highest level. The recent path of the World Cup winner suggests that Paris Saint-Germain had correctly assessed the significant physical uncertainties surrounding his return.

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