Joshua Walter Kimmich (German pronunciation: [ˈjoːzu̯aː ˈkɪmɪç]; born 8 February 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or right-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and captains the Germany national team. Known for his versatility, aggression and playmaking ability, he has been compared with former Bayern Munich and Germany captain Philipp Lahm.
After coming through VfB Stuttgart's youth academy, Kimmich joined RB Leipzig's first team on loan in 2013. Two years later, he joined Bayern Munich. In the 2019–20 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. The following season, he won another Bundesliga title, and the DFL-Supercup.
A former youth international for Germany, Kimmich won the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship with his country's under-21 side. A senior international since 2016, he has earned 114 caps for the national team, making the squads for the 2018, 2022, and 2026 editions of the FIFA World Cup, as well as the 2016, 2020, 2024 campaigns for the UEFA European Championship, and won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017.
Kimmich played youth football for VfB Stuttgart. He joined RB Leipzig on loan in July 2013 in search of playing time, as Stuttgart were reluctant to promote him from the youth to the reserve team. 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 2–2 draw with SpVgg Unterhaching. He scored his first professional goal in a 3–2 victory over 1. FC Saarbrücken on 30 November 2013. He finished the 2013–14 season with one goal in 26 appearances.
Kimmich scored his first goal of the 2014–15 season in a 3–2 victory against Union Berlin on 1 March 2015. He finished the 2014–15 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 €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 3–0 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 2016–17 season by coming on as a substitute in a 2–0 win against Borussia Dortmund in the 2016 DFL-Supercup. On 9 September, he scored his first goal for FC Bayern in a 2–0 Bundesliga, away win at FC Schalke 04. Four days later, he scored his first two Champions League goals in a 5–0 home win against FC Rostov. Kimmich scored a late winning goal in the 88th minute in a 1–0 away victory over Hamburger SV. He finished the 2016–17 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 5–4 penalties after the extra time ended 2–2. 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 4–0 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 4–3 aggregate. Kimmich finished the 2017–18 season with six goals and seventeen assists in 47 appearances.
On 12 August, Kimmich started the 2018–19 season by playing in the German Super Cup and also won the title as his side defeated Eintracht Frankfurt with a 5–0 victory. The following week, on 18 August 2018, Kimmich played in the 1–0 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 3–1. 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 3–1 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 8–2 win over Barcelona in the 2019–20 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 2020–21 season by acquiring the number 6 shirt, after Thiago Alcântara, who had worn it for seven years, departed the club 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 3–2 win over Borussia Dortmund in the 2020 DFL-Supercup. On 27 October, he netted the decisive goal in a 2–1 away victory over Lokomotiv Moscow in the 2020–21 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 1–1 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 8–0 victory over Darmstadt. On 17 April 2024, Kimmich scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Arsenal to secure a 3–2 aggregate win in the quarter-finals, helping Bayern into the semi-finals of the 2023–24 UEFA Champions League, reaching that stage for the first time since winning the title in 2019–20. In the latter half of the 2023–24 season, he played as a right-back under coach Thomas Tuchel.
On 13 March 2025, Kimmich extended his contract with Bayern until 2029. The extension came after a period in which Kimmich was strongly courted with a lucrative offer by Paris Saint-Germain, in addition to efforts by manager Luis Enrique and sporting advisor Luís Campos, who reportedly viewed him as a key long-term midfield target. Under Vincent Kompany, Kimmich was permanently reinstated in central midfield, where he led the Bundesliga in touches, completed passes and total passes during Bayern's 2024–25 season. Later that year, on 4 November, he reached his 100th Champions League appearance in a 2–1 away victory over Paris Saint-Germain. At the conclusion of the 2025–26 season, he won his tenth Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich.
On 13 September 2026, he made his 500th competitive appearance in all competitions for Bayern Munich.
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 3–1 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.