Paul Clement (football manager)
English association football player and manager (born 1972)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Clement (born 8 January 1972) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently the assistant coach of the Brazil national team.
|
Clement with Brazil at the 2026 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Paul Clement[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 8 January 1972[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Wandsworth, England | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Brazil (assistant coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1991 | Banstead Athletic | ||
| 1991–1994 | Corinthian Casuals | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2015–2016 | Derby County | ||
| 2017 | Swansea City | ||
| 2018 | Reading | ||
| 2020–2021 | Cercle Brugge | ||
| 2025– | Brazil (assistant) | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Clement has previously been assistant manager to Carlo Ancelotti several times – at Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich. In his first season as assistant manager, he won the Premier League title with Ancelotti at Chelsea.[3] They also won the UEFA Champions League title and Copa del Rey in their first season at Real Madrid.[4]
Clement obtained his UEFA Pro Licence in 2009, and made his managerial debut with Derby County in 2015.[5] He has managed Derby, Swansea City, Reading, and Cercle Brugge and has previously held coaching roles at Fulham, Blackburn Rovers, Everton, and the England under-21 and Republic of Ireland under-21 teams.
Career
Early coaching
Clement was born in Wandsworth, London.[6] He is the elder son of former Queens Park Rangers and England player Dave Clement and brother of former West Bromwich Albion player Neil Clement.[7] Paul Clement, however, did not progress as a player beyond non-league football with Banstead Athletic and Corinthian Casuals.[7][8] He concentrated on coaching from the age of 23, as he worked in the Chelsea Centre of Excellence while holding down a job as a PE teacher at Glenthorne High School.[6][7] Clement obtained his UEFA 'A' coaching licence in 1999 and became a full-time football coach in 2000, when Fulham appointed him to a role in their academy having been their Head of Education and Welfare.[9][7] Clement also helped coach the Republic of Ireland national under-21 football team, working with Don Givens.[7]
Chelsea
Clement returned to Chelsea in 2007, initially working with their under-16 team.[7] He progressed through the coaching ranks there, working under managers José Mourinho, Avram Grant, and Luiz Felipe Scolari.[10] He took charge of the Chelsea reserve team, replacing Brendan Rodgers, before working with the Chelsea first team when Guus Hiddink was appointed manager in 2009.[7][11] Clement then became assistant manager to Carlo Ancelotti during his two seasons at Chelsea.[7] They went on to win the Premier League title and FA Cup in their first season in charge.[3][12] Ancelotti was dismissed in his second season and Clement left the club soon after.[13]
After Chelsea, Clement briefly worked as a coach at Blackburn Rovers for four months, assisting Steve Kean in the 2011–12 season.[7][14]
Paris Saint-Germain
Clement was then hired by Paris Saint-Germain after Ancelotti had been appointed their head coach mid-season in December 2011.[15] The pair won the Ligue 1 title in their only full season at the club; it was PSG's first league title since 1994.[16] Whilst at the club, Clement coached players such as David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimović.[17]
Real Madrid
Clement was appointed assistant manager at Real Madrid after Ancelotti became their head coach in June 2013.[18] During his time at the club, Clement worked alongside Zinedine Zidane and coached players including Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso and Cristiano Ronaldo.[17] He helped them win the Copa del Rey and tenth UEFA Champions League title, along with the UEFA Super Cup, at the end of his first season at the Bernabéu.[4][19] They also went on to win the club's first FIFA Club World Cup in 2014.[20]
After the team failed to win La Liga in their second season, Ancelotti was dismissed on 25 May 2015 and Clement left the club four days later.[21]
Derby County
Soon after, on 1 June 2015, Clement was appointed manager of Championship club Derby County, who had dismissed Steve McClaren after finishing eighth the previous season.[5] Despite only losing once in 19 games from September to December, Clement was dismissed on 8 February 2016 after one win in seven.[22][23] His final match was a 1–1 draw against Fulham.[24] They were in fifth place at the time he was dismissed.[22] He finished with a record of 14 wins, 12 draws, and seven losses.[25]
In a statement, club chairman Mel Morris said that a lack of progress had been made under Clement, despite the club being only five points behind leaders Hull City.[26][27] Clement's style of football was also cited as a contributing factor.[27][28]
After leaving Derby, Clement briefly helped coach the England under-21 team, working under manager Gareth Southgate.[29]
Bayern Munich
Clement was hired by Bayern Munich in June 2016 as their assistant manager, again working alongside Ancelotti.[30] He helped Bayern to win the 2016 DFL-Supercup, beating Borussia Dortmund 2–0.[31] Whilst at the club, Clement and Ancelotti changed their usual coaching method of man marking to resemble the zonal marking employed by former Bayern manager Pep Guardiola.[32] As of December 2016, Clement and Ancelotti only lost one match during their time in the Bundesliga.[33]
Swansea City
Clement was appointed as the new head coach of Premier League club Swansea City on 3 January 2017, with the club in the relegation zone having dismissed their second manager of the season, Bob Bradley.[34] Claude Makélélé joined him as his assistant; Clement and Makélélé had previously coached at Paris Saint-Germain.[35]
Clement recorded his first victory as Swansea boss with a 3–2 win over Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool.[36][note 1] Clement was named Premier League Manager of the Month for January after a successful first month in charge, earning nine points in four games for Swansea.[38] Under his guidance, Swansea won 26 points from 18 games, ultimately securing the club's Premier League status.[39] Clement was nominated for Manager of the Season in recognition of this achievement.[40]
After a poor start to the 2017–18 season, Clement was criticised for playing "boring" and "negative" football, with some Swansea fans questioning his tactical decisions.[41][42][43] Others, notably The Guardian journalist Stuart James, criticised chairman Huw Jenkins and the club's American owners for a poor transfer window, in which the club sold key performers Fernando Llorente and Gylfi Sigurðsson from the previous season.[44] Clement was dismissed on 20 December 2017, leaving the club bottom of the league table and four points adrift of safety.[45]
Reading
Jaap Stam left Championship club Reading by mutual consent on 21 March 2018; Clement was announced as his successor two days later on a three-year contract.[46] He was dismissed on 6 December 2018 after poor results left the club outside of the relegation zone only on goal difference.[47]
Cercle Brugge
Clement was appointed as the new head coach of Cercle Brugge on 3 July 2020 on a three-year contract.[citation needed] He was dismissed on 1 February 2021.
Everton
On 31 January 2022, Clement was appointed as a first team coach at Everton as part of Frank Lampard's backroom staff.[48] Clement left the club almost one year later on 23 January 2023, following Lampard's dismissal as manager.[49]
Asteras Tripolis
On 12 September 2024, it was reported that Clement was set to join Claude Makélélé as his assistant at top-flight Greek side Asteras Tripolis, a reversal of their coaching roles at Swansea City.[50] However, Makelele left the club three weeks later, allegedly over board interference in his squad selections and tactics.[51]
Brazil
In May 2025, he returned to work with Carlo Ancelotti, joining his coaching staff with the Brazil national team.[52][53]
Managerial statistics
- As of match played 31 January 2021
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Derby County | 1 June 2015 | 8 February 2016 | 33 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 42.4 | [25] |
| Swansea City | 3 January 2017 | 20 December 2017 | 41 | 14 | 5 | 22 | 34.1 | [25][34] |
| Reading | 23 March 2018 | 6 December 2018 | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 23.3 | [25] |
| Cercle Brugge | 3 July 2020 | 1 February 2021 | 25 | 7 | 1 | 17 | 28.0 | |
| Total | 129 | 42 | 26 | 61 | 32.6 | — | ||
Honours
Manager
Individual
- Football Association Senior First Team Coach of the Year: 2015[54]
- Premier League Manager of the Month: January 2017[2]
Assistant manager
Chelsea[12]
Paris Saint-Germain[16]
Real Madrid
- Copa del Rey: 2013–14[4]
- UEFA Champions League: 2013–14[4]
- UEFA Super Cup: 2014[19]
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2014[20]
Bayern Munich[31]
Notes
- Clement was appointed immediately prior to Swansea's win against Crystal Palace, but on the touchline, he aided caretaker Alan Curtis who took charge of the game.[37]
