He is gradually resuming his footballing habits. Questioned by L’Équipe, Presnel Kimpembe gave his news this Tuesday, January 27, almost five months after leaving Paris Saint-Germain. Now a player for Qatar SC, the 30-year-old central defender returns to the thread of his career in the Gulf.
“I found the pleasure of playing again,” confided the man who has played six matches out of the ten played by his club since his arrival in the Stars League. “In my head, I’m still a competitor, I’m hungry for victories, new challenges… If I can play until I’m 40, I’ll play until I’m 40. In my head, I don’t have the goal of stopping,” said Kimpembe, whose last two seasons have been almost blank due to significant physical problems and in particular a ruptured Achilles tendon. “I have to make up for these two and a half years anyway. »
Asked about the end of his adventure in the capital, the French international (28 caps) confided that he had a bad time in his final season with the club of his heart. “My children asked me a lot of questions: Dad, why are you here? The team is playing tonight, why don’t you play? » It was a shock for them, even if they were happy. They were disturbed by the fact that they didn’t see me playing on TV. They went less to the Parc des Princes too. »
“I couldn’t do a third season like that”
If he still accomplished the biggest dream of his career by lifting the Champions League with PSG on May 31, 2025, “Presko” believes that he could have brought more to Luis Enrique’s group last season. “There are plenty of matches that I could have started, that I could have played 90 minutes (…) It was still complicated to swallow, but I accepted because that’s how it is, those are the coach’s choices. »
A lack of playing time finally convinced the French defender to leave the club despite his unwavering link with Paris. “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. »
“There were concrete touches in Italy,” he revealed, when AC Milan was interested in the matter last summer. “I have had opportunities to leave the club before: there was Chelsea, Monaco with Luis Campos already, Saint-Étienne with Christophe Galtier…”. It was ultimately Qatar that Kimpembe chose to try to bounce back and leave behind the troubles of the past.
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