Early career Chimbonda was born in
Les Abymes, Guadeloupe. He began his career at
Le Havre in France in 1999, making his debut against
Strasbourg on 29 April 2000. He spent four years with the club, until Le Havre were relegated to
Ligue 2, when he transferred to
Bastia. During his stay at Bastia, Chimbonda received racist taunts from his own fans after a heavy loss against
Saint-Étienne; this may have contributed to his leaving the club. However, his former teammates at Bastia firmly denied Chimbonda's accusations of racism. After Bastia were relegated in July 2005, he left the club, turning down an offer from
Marseille, and moved to
Wigan Athletic for £500,000 on a three-year contract. He cited the fact that he was "ready for a new challenge and coming to Wigan is the perfect opportunity to test myself against the best players in the world" as the reason for selecting Wigan Athletic.
Wigan Athletic After signing for
Wigan Athletic, Chimbonda was one of the stars of the Latics' first ever season in the Premier League. He played 44 times for the club in all competitions and featured in all but one game of the
2005–06 Premier League season. He scored two goals for the club, both in the 2005–06 season, in consecutive league games against Fulham and Portsmouth. After a hugely successful first season in English football, Chimbonda was named in the
PFA Team of the Year for the
2005–06 season, having been voted as best right back in the Premiership, ahead of
Gary Neville,
Steve Finnan and
Paulo Ferreira. Whilst at Wigan he started in the
2006 Football League Cup Final. He was linked with a move to a range of clubs and was subject to an offer from
West Ham United based on a clause in his contract that allowed him to switch clubs for an offer of £1 million – which was subsequently renegotiated and removed. On the final day of the 2005–06 season, he handed in a transfer request after Wigan lost 4–2 to Arsenal in the final game played at Arsenal's old
Highbury ground, only six months after renegotiating his contract for a further four years. This riled the Wigan management, who set a high price – higher than many prospective buyers were willing to pay – and informed Chimbonda that he could "play in the reserves until his contract is over", if he was not bought.
Tottenham Hotspur replied with a £2 million transfer offer and then a £3 million offer; however, both were rejected, as Wigan had stated that any offers below £6 million would not be accepted, despite previously stating that, according to his agent
Willie McKay, "they wouldn't step in the player's way if a top club came in for him". Further, according to McKay, £3 million "was a terrific offer", and Chimbonda was still hopeful of a move to Tottenham. Chimbonda has stated that "moving to Tottenham will help me take the next step forward", and has called Wigan a "stepping stone". West Ham also made a bid, reportedly £4 million, for the player, though this was also turned down because it fell short of the asking price. He made his last appearance for Wigan on 26 August 2006 in a win against
Reading as a substitute. He replaced
Emile Heskey in the 79th minute, Heskey having scored the winning goal earlier. He eventually joined Tottenham on transfer deadline day, 31 August 2006, after a summer of negotiations.
Tottenham Hotspur On 31 August 2006,
Wigan Athletic accepted a bid from Tottenham Hotspur of £4.5 million, with the transfer being completed just before midnight. He made his Tottenham debut against
Manchester United on 9 September 2006. Chimbonda played in a 2–1 victory over
Chelsea in which it later transpired he had played on with knee ligament damage resulting from a strong challenge by
Frank Lampard in the opening minutes of the game. Tottenham manager
Martin Jol singled out Chimbonda after the match as the best example of the players' spirit and character that day. However, on 14 January 2007 Chimbonda was involved in a controversial incident in his team's match against
Newcastle United when he slapped
Nicky Butt in the face with his glove; an incident that provoked a skirmish between the members of the two teams. He scored the equaliser, and his first goal for Tottenham on 20 January 2007 in the 1–1 draw with
Fulham. He started for Spurs in the
2008 Football League Cup Final victory over Chelsea. On 12 March 2008, he missed an important penalty kick in a
penalty shoot-out, following a series of penalties at the end of the match with
PSV Eindhoven in the
UEFA Cup. PSV went to the next round (quarter finals) and Tottenham were knocked out.
Sunderland On 26 July 2008, Chimbonda signed for
Sunderland, joining up with former teammates
Teemu Tainio and
Steed Malbranque.
Return to Tottenham Hotspur On 26 January 2009, Chimbonda underwent a medical at Tottenham Hotspur ahead of a proposed return to
White Hart Lane and the deal was completed the following day. Sunderland manager
Ricky Sbragia declined to reveal the fee, although it is thought that Sunderland would recoup what they originally paid for Chimbonda, somewhere around the £3 million mark. His second Tottenham debut came in a 3–2 defeat against
Bolton Wanderers on 31 January, where he set up Darren Bent to pull one back for Spurs, after coming on as a substitute. He was cup-tied for Spurs' appearance in the
2009 Football League Cup Final. During this second spell with Tottenham he appeared in 5 games in all competitions including playing in three league matches, and the other two matches he featured in were in the UEFA Cup.
Blackburn Rovers On 27 August 2009, Chimbonda joined
Blackburn Rovers on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £2.5 million. He made his debut against
West Ham United on 29 August, in the 0–0 draw. On 18 October 2009, Chimbonda scored his first goal for the club in the
East Lancashire derby against Burnley at Ewood Park in the 3–2 victory. At the end of this season, Chimbonda made 29 appearances, and scored one goal in all competitions. In January 2011 Blackburn Rovers agreed to terminate Chimbonda's contract with immediate effect.
Queens Park Rangers On 21 January 2011, Chimbonda signed for
Queens Park Rangers on a six-month contract, reportedly taking a 75% pay cut to join. Chimbonda made his debut against
Nottingham Forest coming on as a substitute on the 73rd minute. On 21 April 2011 it was confirmed that Chimbonda was to be released by Queens Park Rangers and would not play for the club again after manager
Neil Warnock stated that the club was not prepared to offer him a long-term deal.
Doncaster Rovers On 28 September 2011, Chimbonda signed a short-term deal with Championship club Doncaster Rovers. Upon signing for Rovers, Chimbonda joined his sixth English club, and became manager Dean Saunders' first signing at the club. He made his debut on 18 October, against
Blackpool, but five games later suffered an injury which kept him out for the rest of 2011. On 29 December, Chimbonda signed a new six-month contract at
Keepmoat Stadium, meaning he would stay until the end of the season.
Later career After leaving Doncaster Rovers at the end of the 2011–12 season, Chimbonda played no part in the following season. A move to
Chicago Fire fell through, and he remained a free agent throughout the entire 2012–13 season. In July 2013 Chimbonda began training with
Northern Premier League Division One South side
Market Drayton Town and played in the club's pre-season friendly with
Notts County. He also played on trial for
League One side
Tranmere Rovers. On 18 October 2013, Chimbonda signed a three-month contract with
League One side
Carlisle United. On 1 October 2014, Chimbonda signed with French
Ligue 2 side
AC Arles-Avignon. He was released in February 2015 having played four games in Ligue 2, scoring no goals and receiving three yellow cards. Chimbonda initially retired from playing following his release by Arles-Avignon. On 5 October 2017, Chimbonda came out of retirement and signed with non-league side
Washington. In January 2019, Chimbonda signed a one-month contract with
Ashton Town of the
North West Counties League Division One North. He made his Ashton Town debut in a 6–2 home victory over Bacup Borough. He left the club in March having made four appearances. ==International career==