Ismaël Gharbi, the 22-year-old Tunisian international, has joined Spanish Segunda División side CD Leganés on loan from Portuguese club Braga, the club announced on Thursday.
The loan move includes an option for Leganés to make the transfer permanent. Gharbi departed Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer to join Braga this past summer, but has struggled to establish himself as a regular starter.
Gharbi is a versatile attacking midfielder, also capable of playing on the wings, and stands at 1.73m tall. He came through the youth ranks at PSG, spending eight years with the club from 2016 to 2024, but only made twelve first-team appearances for the Parisians.
Prior to the move to Braga, Gharbi spent a loan spell at Lausanne during the 2023-2024 season. While at Braga, he scored four goals in 38 appearances before a subsequent loan to Bundesliga side Augsburg proved less successful, where he featured in just seven matches without finding the net.
Born in Paris to a Tunisian father and Spanish mother, Gharbi has represented France, Spain, and Tunisia at youth levels. He ultimately chose to represent the Tunisian national team, earning 20 caps and scoring twice, and was part of their squad at the recent World Cup where they were eliminated in the group stage. His international decision came ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The move to Leganés offers Gharbi an opportunity to gain consistent playing time and potentially reignite his career in a familiar footballing environment, given his Spanish heritage. Leganés finished sixteenth in Liga Hypermotion last season and will hope Gharbi can contribute to a more successful campaign.
