Joshua Walter Kimmich was born on 8 February 1995 in Rottweil, Germany, and developed through VfB Stuttgart's youth system before joining RB Leipzig in 2013, making his professional debut in the 3. Liga. In January 2015 Bayern Munich signed him for around €7 million.
He has since become a foundational player for both club and country. At Bayern he originally played as a right-back before moving into central midfield under Hansi Flick in 2020, and won the 2019-20 continental treble (Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Champions League). He has lifted multiple Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal trophies, was named to the 2020 UEFA Team of the Year, and reached his 100th Champions League appearance in November 2025. In March 2025 he extended his contract through 2029.
For Germany he debuted in 2016, has been captain since September 2024 and reached 100 caps in June 2025. He was a regular at Euro 2020, the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024.
Standing 1.77 m and right-footed, Kimmich is the modern "Swiss Army knife" midfielder — comfortable as a right-back, defensive midfielder, central midfielder or even an emergency centre-back, with elite passing range, set-piece quality and tactical intelligence. Pep Guardiola has compared him to Philipp Lahm in profile and game-reading, and he is widely regarded as one of the world's best midfielders.