Kimpembe joins ex-Qatar national team boss as Qatar SC look to rise up from last year’s poor league finish.
French defender Presnel Kimpembe has joined Qatar SC from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain on a permanent deal, the Qatar Stars League side announced on Sunday.
Kimpembe’s transfer to Doha ends his 20 years at the French club, where he began an academy player six years before Qatar Sports Investment’s takeover in 2011.
The move will see him join the likes of Franco Russo, Joao Pedro, Lukas Kalvach, Yan Matheus, and Mus’ab Battat in the list of Qatar SC’s foreign signings done as part of a revamp under ex-Qatar national team head coach Bartolome Marquez Lopez.
According to Transfermarkt, he penned a season-long deal at the Qatari club to become the latest among Marco Veratti, Julian Draxler and Abdou Diallo to swap PSG for a Qatar Stars League side.
He had made 241 appearances for PSG and worn the captain’s armband 31 times since debuting for the senior team in 2014.
A part of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning squad, Kimpembe also became the first PSG graduate to captain the French national team in 2022.
In a statement also released on Sunday, PSG hailed the 30-year-old centre back as a “club legend” possessing “commitment and deep leadership”.
“A child of the Paris region, an academy graduate and a true captain and leader, Presnel Kimpembe will forever remain a major player in the history of Paris Saint-Germain,” the club’s statement read.
Kimpembe won eight French league titles, seven Coupes de France, six Trophée des Champions, five Coupes de la Ligue and one UEFA Champions League during his time at the club.
His last two years, however, were marred by an injury that he suffered in February 2023. He returned to action after two years, yet made a mere five appearances in Luis Enrique’s new-look side that went on to win the UEFA Champions League 2025.
In a now revamped youth-heavy side, PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi said Kimpembe continued to stand as an “ambassador and model professional” for the club.
“He is a fantastic example to young players of our Academy, and will always be part of the Paris Saint-Germain family,” Al-Khelaifi said in a statement.
“We wish him all the very best for the future and his next adventure.”
Born in Beaumont-sur-Oise in the Paris region, Kimpembe was referenced as a “Maestro” in Vegdream’s 2018 hit single Ramenez la coupe à la maison, released as a tribute to the World Cup-winning squad.
