Joshua Walter Kimmich (; born 8 February 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or right-back for club Bayern Munich and captains the Germany national team. Known for his versatility, aggression and playmaking ability, Kimmich has been compared with former Bayern Munich and Germany captain Philipp Lahm.
After coming through RB Leipzig's youth academy, Kimmich began playing for the club's first team in 2013. Two years later, he joined Bayern Munich. In the 2019âÂÂ20 season, he won the continental treble with Bayern Munich (UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal) and was included in the UEFA Team of the Year.
Kimmich played youth football for VfB Stuttgart. He then went on to join RB Leipzig in July 2013. Stuttgart secured an option to rebuy. He made his 3. Liga debut for the club on 28 September of that year, as a substitute for Thiago Rockenbach in a 2âÂÂ2 draw with SpVgg Unterhaching. He scored his first professional goal in a 3âÂÂ2 victory over 1. FC Saarbrücken on 30 November 2013. He finished the 2013âÂÂ14 season with one goal in 26 appearances.
Kimmich scored his first goal of the 2014âÂÂ15 season in a 3âÂÂ2 victory against Union Berlin on 1 March 2015. He finished the 2014âÂÂ15 season with two goals in 29 appearances.
Kimmich left the club with a tally of three goals in 53 league appearances for the club.
On 2 January 2015, Kimmich agreed to join Bayern Munich on a five-year contract lasting until 30 June 2020, for a reported fee of â¬7 million, most of which went to VfB Stuttgart. He made his debut for the club on 9 August, starting in the first round of the DFB-Pokal against FC Nöttingen. Pep Guardiola gave him his Bundesliga debut the following month on 12 September when he entered play as a late substitute at home against FC Augsburg. Four days later, Kimmich made his first appearance in the UEFA Champions League in Bayern's tournament opener away at Olympiakos and he started in the Bundesliga for the first time three days thereafter, playing 90 minutes against SV Darmstadt 98 in a 3âÂÂ0 victory.
Kimmich ended his first season at Bayern having made 23 league appearances of which 15 were starts. He also played the full 120 minutes in Bayern's 2016 DFB-Pokal Final defeat of Borussia Dortmund at the Berlin Olympiastadion on 21 May.
Kimmich started the 2016âÂÂ17 season by coming on as a substitute in a 2âÂÂ0 win against Borussia Dortmund in the 2016 DFL-Supercup. On 9 September, he scored his first goal for FC Bayern in a 2âÂÂ0 Bundesliga, away win at FC Schalke 04. Four days later, he scored his first two Champions League goals in a 5âÂÂ0 home win against FC Rostov. Kimmich scored a late winning goal in the 88th minute in a 1âÂÂ0 away victory over Hamburger SV. He finished the 2016âÂÂ17 season with nine goals in forty appearances.
After Philipp Lahm's retirement, Kimmich took over his position and began playing as a right-back. He played in the 2017 DFL-Supercup and won the title as Bayern defeated their arch-rival Borussia Dortmund on 5âÂÂ4 penalties after the extra time ended 2âÂÂ2. On 16 September, he provided overall three assists to Thomas Müller, Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski's goals to defeat 1. FSV Mainz 05 with a 4âÂÂ0 victory. On 9 March 2018, Kimmich signed a three-year contract extension which lasts until 30 June 2023. He managed to score each goal in both the first and second leg in the Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid, but his side were knocked out from the competition on 4âÂÂ3 aggregate. Kimmich finished the 2017âÂÂ18 season with six goals and seventeen assists in 47 appearances.
On 12 August, Kimmich started the 2018âÂÂ19 season by playing in the German Super Cup and also won the title as his side defeated Eintracht Frankfurt with a 5âÂÂ0 victory. The following week, on 18 August 2018, Kimmich played in the 1âÂÂ0 win against SV Drochtersen/Assel in the first round of the German Cup. Kimmich played in the opening match of the Bundesliga season against 1899 Hoffenheim on 24 August 2018. Bayern won the match 3âÂÂ1. Kimmich's first goal of the season came against Hannover 96 on 15 December 2018. He made his 100th league appearance for the club on 9 February 2019 during a 3âÂÂ1 win over rivals, Schalke.
Kimmich played every single minute in all 34 matches in the Bundesliga. In those 34 matches, Kimmich scored two goals and finished second in the league with 13 assists. On 14 August 2020, Kimmich scored one goal and provided an assist in an 8âÂÂ2 win over Barcelona in the 2019âÂÂ20 UEFA Champions League quarter-final. On 23 August 2020, Kimmich made an important assist for the winning goal against Paris Saint-Germain by Kingsley Coman in the final, to be his first Champions League title along with his teammate Serge Gnabry, another VfB Stuttgart academy product.
Kimmich started the 2020âÂÂ21 season by acquiring the number 6 shirt, after Thiago Alcântara, who had worn it for seven years, departed for Liverpool. In addition, he transitioned to the defensive midfielder position under coach Hansi Flick. On 30 September 2020, he scored the winning goal in a 3âÂÂ2 win over Borussia Dortmund in the 2020 DFL-Supercup. On 27 October, he netted the decisive goal in a 2âÂÂ1 away victory over Lokomotiv Moscow in the 2020âÂÂ21 UEFA Champions League.
On 23 August 2021, Kimmich signed a new contract with Bayern, keeping him at the club until 2025. On 24 January 2023, he scored a goal from a distance of 25 meters, to equalize the match 1âÂÂ1 against 1. FC Köln in the 90th minute.
On 28 October 2023, he received his first straight red card at senior level in the 4th minute, having previously been sent off with Stuttgart U19 in 2013, in a match which witnessed two red cards for the opponent and an 8âÂÂ0 victory over Darmstadt.
On 17 April 2024, Kimmich scored the only goal in a 1âÂÂ0 victory over Arsenal to secure a 3âÂÂ2 aggregate win in the quarter-finals, helping Bayern into the semi-finals of the 2023âÂÂ24 UEFA Champions League, reaching that stage for the first time since winning the title in 2019âÂÂ20. In the latter half of the 2023âÂÂ24 season, he played as a right-back under coach Thomas Tuchel.
On 13 March 2025, Kimmich extended his contract with Bayern until 2029. Later that year, on 4 November, he reached his 100th Champions League appearance in a 2âÂÂ1 away victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
On 17 May 2016, Kimmich was named in Germany's preliminary 27-man squad for UEFA Euro 2016. On 29 May, he made his international debut in a 3âÂÂ1 home friendly defeat against Slovakia. On 31 May, Kimmich was named in the final 23-man squad and given the shirt number 21. On 21 June, Kimmich was selected to start for Germany in their final Group C match against Northern Ireland, replacing Benedikt Höwedes at right-back. Kimmich remained Germany's first-choice right-back as they reached the semi-finals and was named in UEFA's Team of the Tournament.
On 4 September 2016, Kimmich scored his debut goal for the Germany national team in a 3âÂÂ0 victory over Norway during 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification.
On 17 May 2017, Kimmich was included in Joachim Löw's Germany squad for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. On 6 June 2017, he scored from a stunning overhead kick in a friendly against Denmark in the 88th minute of the game which helped Germany to grab their late equaliser against Denmark, as the match ended up 1âÂÂ1.
On 4 June 2018, Kimmich was selected for Germany's final 23-man squad by Joachim Löw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 17 June 2018, Kimmich made his World Cup debut against Mexico in their opening match, but the game ended in a 1âÂÂ0 loss for Germany. On 6 September 2018, Kimmich started Germany's UEFA Nations League opener against France, playing as a defensive midfielder for the first time in 18 months.
On 19 May 2021, he was selected to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2020. On 4 June 2022, he played the entire 90 minutes in a 1âÂÂ1 draw against Italy in a group game in the 2022âÂÂ23 UEFA Nations League and scored a goal in the process. Ten days later, he scored a goal in a 5âÂÂ2 win against the same opponent. On 10 November 2022, he was named in the 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
On 7 June 2024, Kimmich was named in Germany's squad for UEFA Euro 2024. In September 2024, he was appointed as captain of the German national team.
On 4 June 2025, Kimmich played his 100th match with the German national team against Portugal in the 2024âÂÂ25 UEFA Nations League, in which he assisted Florian Wirtz's goal.
Horst Hrubesch has praised Kimmich for his versatility, saying "Joshua has enormous quality and is versatile in both attacking and defensive roles," also describing him as "an intelligent player with good technical skills and agility" and as "a winner." Remarking on Kimmich's versatility, a 2017 article on the Bundesliga's official website referred to him as a "veritable Swiss Army knife of a player", citing Guardiola's conversion of a player he once referred to as "one of the best defensive midfielder in the world" into a right-back. He has also been used as a make-shift centre-back on occasion, as a central midfielder, or as a deep-lying playmaker, due to his ability to dictate play in midfield. In 2015, Guardiola described Kimmich as a promising player, and noted that he "...has everything a player needs. He is very intelligent, always aggressive toward the ball, strong in the air, has an eye for free space, has superb vision and knows when to charge forward and when to sit back."
Amin Younes complimented Kimmich's defensive awareness as well in an interview, after the U21 EURO group stage. "Winning the ball back superbly. He does that really well", Younes told to the media. During the U21 competition, Philip Röber of UEFA.com, described Kimmich's playing style on the website and compared him to ðlkay GündoÃÂan, but other critics compared him to retired Bayern captain Philipp Lahm.<blockquote>At Leipzig, he was part of an extremely attack-minded team in which his ball-winning qualities in front of a high back four shone through. In the Germany U21 side, he has a deeper role, but he has also caught the eye as a tidy defensive midfielder. Kimmich has great timing in his tackles, can dribble and does not mind putting in the legwork.</blockquote>
Kimmich is also known for his precise passing and crossing, and is a striker of the ball. Kimmich himself has cited Bastian Schweinsteiger, Xabi Alonso, and Xavi as some of his inspirations.
Kimmich married his long-time girlfriend, Lina Meyer in 2022. The couple has four children, a son, born in 2019, a daughter, born in October 2020, with their third child being born in 2022, and their fourth in 2024.
Kimmich was referenced by British Rapper Kwengface in his 2024 song "Plugged in 2:2" that featured on his album "A Gangster's Holiday".
Kimmich launched an online initiative "We Kick Corona" with his Bayern Munich teammate Leon Goretzka, to help charitable, social or medical institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite his early support for that initiative, he remained unvaccinated against COVID. His unvaccinated status caused him to miss important matches for both the Germany national team and Bayern. After testing positive for COVID in November 2021 and reportedly experiencing multiple side effects including decreased lung capacity, Kimmich publicly stated that he regretted his hesitancy and stated he would be receiving the vaccination.
In March 2023, he featured in the German crime series Tatort.
Bayern Munich
Germany U19
Germany
Individual