Known as the “League of Talents”, Ligue 1 has produced so many wonderful footballers over the years, particularly attacking players. There has always been a rich pool of attacking talent in the French top flight over the decades, as Ballon d’Or winners and world-class goal-scorers have made their names initially in Ligue 1.
So in honor of that, let’s take a look at the 10 greatest strikers to have plied their craft in French football. There are a number of active players on the list, but there are also plenty of stars of the past to celebrate.
10. Edinson Cavani, PSG
It was always sad to see Edinson Cavani “fail comps” make rounds on social media, because while Cavani was not known for being a finisher on the level of the players ahead of him on this list, you won’t find many more well-rounded strikers in the history of Ligue 1. His all-around play has enabled him to still get opportunities late in his career, including with Manchester United and Valencia.
Although Cavani was overshadowed a bit by Zlatan Ibrahimović and then later Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, he was a fabulous player and goal-scorer for PSG. Cavani was the club’s all-time leading scorer until Mbappé recently broke his record. As it stands, only three players in the modern history of Ligue 1 have needed fewer minutes per goal than Cavani’s 109 – and two of those players are Zlatan and Kylian.
To appreciate how good Cavani was, look at his numbers in 2016/17 and 2017/18. He had a combined 63 goals and 10 assists in those two Ligue 1 seasons, averaging 1.2 key passes per game in the 2017/18 season. Peak Cavani was unreal.
9. Pauleta, PSG and Bordeaux
Before Cristiano Ronaldo became the greatest player in the history of Portuguese football, there were a number of world-class players in the country. Another PSG star, Pedro Pauleta, may not be as well-known by the modern fan as say, Luis Figo, but the man who scored nearly 50 goals for his country is indeed one of the best strikers in the history of Ligue 1.
Pauleta joined Bordeaux in 2000 after playing for Deportivo La Coruña in the Spanish top flight, and he immediately hit it off. He was second in the league with 20 goals in his first season, and then in his second season, he upped that tally to 22 and was named the best player in the league.
At his peak, Pauleta was one of the best players in world football, scoring unforgettable goals for two of Ligue 1’s most historic clubs in Bordeaux and PSG. Pauleta still sits seventh in the all-time scorer chart and is a true Ligue 1 icon.
8. Wissam Ben Yedder, Monaco
Still going strong as one of the players battling near the top of the scoring charts in the 2022/23 Ligue 1 season, 32-year-old striker Wissam Ben Yedder has been an inspirational figure for Monaco over the years. Ben Yedder is as consistent as they come and has seemingly gotten better with age.
A standout for Toulouse early in his career, Ben Yedder scored at least 14 goals in each of his first four seasons as a starter for Les Violets, earning a move to one of the biggest clubs in Europe, Sevilla.
After playing well in LaLiga, Ben Yedder returned to Ligue 1, and he’s really hit his peak over the last couple of years since joining Monaco. Ben Yedder was even Ligue 1’s joint top-scorer in 2019/20 with Kylian Mbappé, averaging 1.7 key passes per game and 1.3 dribbles completed per match for good measure.
He then upped his goal tally in seasons that were not shortened due to the pandemic, even hitting 25 goals in 2021/22. Ben Yedder is fifth of all time in scoring in Ligue 1, and if Mbappé leaves PSG, he would very likely overtake the French superstar and another French icon in Jean-Pierre Papin as the third-best scorer in the league’s history.
7. Sonny Anderson, Lyon, Marseille, and Monaco
A star for Marseille and Monaco early in his career, Sonny Anderson then made a huge move to Barcelona, played there for a couple of seasons, and returned to Ligue 1 to play the best football of his life with French powerhouse Lyon.
Anderson is one of the most exciting players in the history of the league. There was a smile on his face whenever he played, and his goal celebrations became almost as famous as the incredible solo goals and roaring screamers he scored. In 110 matches with Lyon, Anderson found the back of the net 71 times, scoring a combined 45 goals in his first two seasons with Les Gones.
A two-time LaLiga winner and three-time champion of Ligue 1 (once with Monaco, twice with Lyon), Anderson knew how to turn goals into team success. He is one of the most talented players to have ever played in this league, winning Player of the Season honors once and finishing top of the scoring charts three times.
6. Bernard Lacombe, Lyon, Saint-Etienne and Bordeaux
Bernard Lacombe made nearly 500 appearances in his career, and he spent every single one of those club matches in Ligue 1. He played for Lyon, Saint-Étienne, and Bordeaux, building an undeniable legacy with three of Europe’s most historic sides.
Although he scored most of his career goals with his first team, Lyon, he did play about 20 more matches for Bordeaux. Lacombe is second behind Onnis on the all-time scoring charts in league history, and he also had plenty of team success.
A three-time winner of the French top flight with Bordeaux, Lacombe also won the Coup de France three times – twice with Bordeaux and once with Lyon.
5. Carlos Bianchi, Reims, Strasbourg, and PSG
The man who replaced all-time Ligue 1 top scorer Delio Onnis at Stade de Reims, Carlos Bianchi built quite the impressive legacy of his own in the French top flight.
Bianchi needed just 106 minutes to score in his career in Ligue 1, meaning he has the highest rate of any player who did not play for PSG in the Qatar era.
In total, Bianchi made over 200 Ligue 1 appearances for Reims, PSG, and Strasbourg, so he is yet another great striker from the Parisian club to make this list of the best No. 9’s in league history. Bianchi even scored 76 goals in just 89 appearances for the capital club, smashing home a whopping 37 goals in 38 matches in his first season. It’s too bad PSG weren’t a top team at the time, because Bianchi was on another level in front of goal.
In total, Bianchi led the scoring charts five times and is easily one of the best pure goal-scorers to have played in Ligue 1.
4. Zlatan Ibrahimović, PSG
You had to watch Zlatan Ibrahimović to understand just how good he was for PSG. The Swedish international has been great for so many clubs across so many leagues, but it’s entirely plausible that his very best individual performances were with PSG in Ligue 1 as the first face of the Qatari takeover.
Ibrahimović scored a goal every 91 minutes for the Parisian giants. Even at the beginning, Jean-Pierre Papin gushed about Zlatan, comparing him to Marco van Basten and stating that he was “on a different planet to anyone else”.
Zlatan made good on the record-breaking contract and the hype in his time in Paris. He may have spent less time in Ligue 1 than many of the other players on this list, but he ushered in an era of dominance in the league for PSG and was irresistible on the ball as a goal-scorer and as a playmaker. His willingness to drop deep and create went underrated.
In two seasons, Zlatan hit 30 goals in the league, including an incredible 38 goals and 13 assists in the 2015/16 season, setting career highs in both statistical categories while also averaging 1.2 dribbles completed per game.
Yes, he had more goals and assists in a Ligue 1 season than he did in an MLS season, which shows you how dominant he was at his peak in Paris. In that 30-goal season, Zlatan averaged a stunning 1.8 key passes per game, too. Those two seasons are two of the best ever by a striker in league history.
3. Delio Onnis, Monaco, Tours, and Reims
No player has scored more goals in the history of Ligue 1 than Delio Onnis. He first played for Reims, finding the back of the net 39 times in 65 matches. Then, he embarked on the most fruitful journey of his career with one of the league’s most historic clubs, Monaco, scoring a jaw-dropping 187 goals in 232 games.
Interestingly enough, Onnis didn’t finish his career with Monaco and actually moved to a newly-promoted side in Tours. His all-time numbers would have probably been even better, but he still led Ligue 1 (then Division 1) twice with Tours. And finally, after Tours were relegated, he moved to another unheralded top-flight side in Toulon, remaining effective there.
Onnis only won Ligue 1 and the Coup de France once each with Monaco, but he was top scorer five times. Perhaps most remarkably, that league title with Monaco came a season after they were relegated. Onnis stayed and helped Monaco win Ligue 2, scoring 30 goals in 32 matches as the division’s top scorer.
2. Kylian Mbappé, PSG and Monaco
It may seem presumptuous to have Kylian Mbappé ranked so highly because he is more of a left winger than a striker, but even when he plays on the left side of the attack, Mbappé counts as a striker with how he plays. More to the point, he has been a wonderful striker for PSG in that role, even when the team has not been built around him in 2022/23 with Lionel Messi returning to top form.
What makes Mbappé special is the fact that he produces elite goal-scoring and creative numbers, as well as elite numbers as someone who starts attacks and progresses the ball. Mbappé had 33 goals and 7 assists in the 2018/19 season as a breakout, global superstar after the World Cup, and he is currently sitting on 18 goals in 22 appearances as a No. 9 in 2022/23.
But Mbappé’s best season was in 2021/22 when he pretty much carried a disappointing PSG side with 28 goals, 17 assists, 3.2 dribbles completed per game, and 2.0 key passes per game. That is one of the greatest individual seasons in Ligue 1 history, especially given the context of where PSG were at as a team, compared to past seasons when the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimović and Neymar put up equally dominant numbers.
Mbappé needed just 247 appearances to score more than 200 goals to beat Edinson Cavani’s record as PSG’s all-time scorer. That tells you how good he is. Despite all his duties as a creator and progresses, the former Monaco star scores every 98 minutes. Even though he is just 24, he is fourth on the all-time scoring chart in Ligue 1.
1. Jean-Pierre Papin, Marseille
Yet the best striker in Ligue 1 history is a distinction that belongs to Jean-Pierre Papin, even after all these years. He is one of the greatest legends in the history of this sport and French football. One day, Mbappé will surpass him if he stays in Paris, but, for now, Papin is No. 1.
The third highest-scoring player in the history of Ligue 1, Papin was unplayable in his first stint in the league with Marseille from 1986 to 1992. After starting his career as a standout in Ligue 2 for Valenciennes and then in Belgium for the historic Club Bruges, Papin became a global superstar in the south of France, winning the league four times in a row to finish his time with Les Phocéens.
Papin scored 181 goals in 279 appearances for Marseille, winning the coveted Ballon d’Or in 1991. He scored at least 22 goals in each of the four seasons Marseille won the league, including 30 in 36 matches in 1989/1990.
After playing for Milan and Bayern München to more limited success due to injuries, Papin returned to Ligue 1 with Bordeaux, scoring 16 goals in the 1996/97 season.
Papin’s time with Marseille is one of the greatest runs in the history of French football. He was untouchable, Marseille were dominant, and the kinds of goals he scored were among the best we have ever seen.
The man could score any type of goal, no matter the difficulty, and that made Papin the best and most exciting player on the planet to watch at his absolute best.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.