95% didn’t want to renew
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Joshua Kimmich is an integral part of the German national team and the FC Bayern team. During the 2024/25 season, however, the sporting future of the 31-year-old defensive all-rounder was a major topic of discussion. It was not until March 2025, after several rounds of negotiations and a temporary withdrawal of the offer, that both sides ended the poker and extended their cooperation. Kimmich signed a new contract until 2029 and ended all speculation about a free transfer. As part of the ZDF documentary “Sportstudio Production: Captain Kimmich”, which can be seen in the channel’s media library from June 9th, the DFB captain made it clear that he had dealt very intensively with the advertising of Paris Saint-Germain.
“With Paris there was a club that was very committed. One that wasn’t really on my list. I’ve already spoken to the sports director (Luís Campos; editor) and the coach of Paris (Luis Enrique; editor). If there’s a lot of interest, and I have to say, they did it really well and really gave you the impression that they really want you, then it’s okay to deal with it,” said Kimmich. The French top club tried to sign him in both the summer of 2024 and the following winter.
When a change failed in the first attempt, Campos traveled to Kimmich in Munich and visited him at home. “That caught me. I was supposed to be an important piece of the puzzle as a player with a little more experience. And that does something to you,” said the Rottweiler native. In February 2025, his wife Lina traveled to Paris on her behalf to take a closer look at the circumstances of the possible new employer and the city. “We looked at everything. Schools, residential areas,” said Lina Kimmich, while her husband revealed that the PSG bosses were bringing in the big guns to convince the professional. “Paris sent me an offer. The financial aspect was crazy. Really. Very, very crazy, I have to say. But I didn’t want to make that the deciding factor,” stated the German World Championship driver.
Why Kimmich turned down the PSG offer for FC Bayern
In the end, however, two components spoke in favor of an extension: the new Bayern coach Vincent Kompany (“I have never felt such great trust as I do now) and the private situation with responsibility for the family. Kimmich sees the fact that he stayed on Säbener Straße as the “right” decision. In the summer of 2024, the signs were completely different when he explained: “Even if we win 30 games in a row here and the financial offer is crazy and the club is fully behind me. I don’t want to rule it out 100 percent, but 95 percent of the time I don’t see it happening that I’ll extend here.”
At that time, Kimmich struggled with the lack of appreciation from those responsible around sports director Max Eberl: “The club’s support wasn’t there as one would hope or wish.” In an interview with the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” shortly after he signed until 2029, he gave an insight into contract poker and said, among other things: “Even my father called me at some point and asked: What’s going on now? What else do you need?”