Early coaching Clement was born in
Wandsworth, London. 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. Paul Clement, however, did not progress as a player beyond non-league football with
Banstead Athletic and
Corinthian Casuals. 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. 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. Clement then became assistant manager to
Carlo Ancelotti during his two seasons at Chelsea. Ancelotti was sacked in his second season and Clement left the club soon after. After Chelsea, Clement briefly worked as a coach at
Blackburn Rovers for four months, assisting
Steve Kean in the 2011–12 season.
Paris Saint-Germain Clement was then hired by
Paris Saint-Germain after Ancelotti had been appointed their head coach mid-season in December 2011. The pair won the
Ligue 1 title in their
only full season at the club; it was PSG's first league title since 1994. Whilst at the club, Clement coached such players as
David Beckham and
Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Real Madrid Clement was appointed assistant manager at
Real Madrid after Ancelotti became their head coach in June 2013. During his time at the club, Clement worked alongside
Zinedine Zidane and coached players including
Sergio Ramos,
Xabi Alonso and
Cristiano Ronaldo. They also went on to win the club's first
FIFA Club World Cup in 2014. After the team failed to win
La Liga in their second season, Ancelotti was sacked on 25 May 2015 and Clement walked out four days later.
Derby County Soon after, on 1 June, he was appointed
manager of
Championship club
Derby County, who had sacked
Steve McClaren after finishing eighth
the previous season. His final match was a 1–1 draw against
Fulham. They were in fifth place at the time he was sacked. Clement's style of football was also cited as a contributing factor. After leaving Derby, Clement briefly helped coach the
England under-21 team, working under manager
Gareth Southgate.
Bayern Munich Clement was hired by
Bayern Munich in June 2016 as their assistant manager, again working alongside Ancelotti. He helped Bayern to win the
2016 DFL-Supercup, beating
Borussia Dortmund 2–0. 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. As of December 2016, Clement and Ancelotti only lost one match during their time in the
Bundesliga.
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 sacked their second manager of the season,
Bob Bradley.
Claude Makélélé joined him as his assistant; Clement and Makélélé had previously coached at Paris Saint-Germain. Clement recorded his first victory as Swansea boss with a 3–2 win over
Jürgen Klopp's
Liverpool. 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. Under his guidance, Swansea won 26 points from 18 games, ultimately securing the club's Premier League status. Clement was nominated for
Manager of the Season in recognition of this achievement. 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. 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. Clement was sacked on 20 December 2017, leaving the club bottom of the league table and four points adrift of safety.
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. He was sacked on 6 December 2018 after poor results left the club outside of the relegation zone only on
goal difference.
Cercle Brugge Clement was appointed as the new head coach of Cercle Brugge on 3 July 2020 on a three-year contract. He was sacked 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 new backroom staff. He left the club almost one year later on 23 January 2023, following Lampard's sacking as manager.
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. However, Makelele left the club three weeks later, allegedly over board interference in his squad selections and tactics.
Brazil On May 14 2025, it was reported that Clement was set to reunite with
Carlo Ancelotti and join his coaching team for the Brazilian national side. ==Managerial statistics==