Top 10 Best Ligue 1 Player Of All Time
Who are the greatest footballers to ever grace the French Ligue 1? This definitive ranking takes a look at the careers of the top 10 players who have draw-in fans with their skills, achievements, and impact on the game.
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RankPlayer NamePositionAppearancesGoals
1Delio OnnisCentre-Forward449299
2Bernard LacombeCentre-Forward494255
3Hervé RevelliCentre-Forward389216
4Thadée CisowskiCentre-Forward286206
5Roger PiantoniLeft Winger394203
6Kylian MbappéCentre-Forward245191
7Joseph UjlakiRight Winger431188
8Fleury Di NalloCentre-Forward421187
9Carlos BianchiCentre-Forward220179
10Gunnar AnderssonCentre-Forward234179
1. Delio Onnis
Delio Onnis, born on March 24, 1948, in Giuliano di Roma, Italy, is a retired professional footballer known for his incredible goal-scoring ability.
When he was just three years old, his family moved to Argentina, where he grew up and gained Argentine citizenship.
Onnis, nicknamed “El Tano” (which means “the Italian”), started his football career in Argentina. He first played for Almagro and then for Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata.
Onnis’s career in Europe began in 1971 when he joined Stade de Reims in France. He quickly made a name for himself by scoring 22 goals in his first season and 17 in the next.
His outstanding performances caught the eye of AS Monaco, and In 1974, Monaco signed him. Over seven seasons with Monaco, he became their top scorer every year, scoring a total of 223 goals, including 157 in Ligue 1.
Onnis played a key part in helping Monaco win the Ligue 1 title in the 1977-78 season and the Coupe de France in 1980.
In 1980, Onnis moved to Tours FC, and he continued to impress. He became the league’s top scorer twice more while playing for Tours.
After Tours was relegated in 1983, Onnis joined SC Toulon, where he played until he retired in 1986. By the end of his career, Onnis had scored an astonishing 299 goals in Ligue 1, making him the all-time leading scorer in the league’s history.
This remarkable record has earned him a place as one of the greatest strikers in French football. Even though Onnis was a star at the club level, he was not selected to play for the Argentine national team, which often chose players who stayed in Argentina.
This meant that Onnis didn’t get the same recognition as some of his peers, like Mario Kempes and Leopoldo Luque. However, Onnis’s legacy in Ligue 1 is unmatched.
He won five top-scorer titles and is remembered as an exceptional finisher, making him one of the best Ligue 1 players of all time.
2. Bernard Lacombe
Bernard Lacombe is a legendary figure in French football, having started his professional career in 1969 with Olympique Lyonnais, where he established himself as a top striker.
During his time at Lyon, he scored 149 goals in 258 games, making him one of the club’s greatest players. In 1978, Lacombe moved to AS Saint-Étienne, and he scored 18 goals in 37 matches.
His next big step was joining Girondins de Bordeaux, and he truly made his mark. At Bordeaux, he scored 137 goals in 298 appearances and won three Ligue 1 titles.
Lacombe was known for his excellent technical skills and his knack for scoring in important moments. He was also successful on the international stage, earning 38 caps for the French national team and scoring 12 goals.
He played in the 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cups and helped France win the UEFA Euro 1984. Notably, he scored the fastest goal in French World Cup history, just 30 seconds into a match against Italy in 1978.
After retiring in 1987, Lacombe continued to contribute to football as a manager and director. He returned to Lyon as a director of football and later became head coach to help the club return to success.
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3. Hervé Revelli
Hervé Revelli is one of the best football players in Ligue 1 history. He played as a forward and later became a coach. Revelli’s career took off in the mid-1960s and lasted until the early 1980s, making him a legend in French football.
However, Revelli started his professional career with AS Gardanne but became famous after joining AS Saint-Étienne in 1964.
During his time there, he helped the club win seven Ligue 1 titles between 1967 and 1976. He was especially known for his goal-scoring skills, becoming the top scorer in Ligue 1 in 1967 and 1970.
In 1969, he scored 31 goals in one season, a record that lasted until Kylian Mbappé matched it in 2019. Apart from league titles, Revelli also helped Saint-Étienne win the Coupe de France four times.
After his time at Saint-Étienne, Revelli played for OGC Nice and CS Chênois. He finished his playing career at LB Châteauroux, scoring a total of 286 goals in 625 matches.
Revelli also played for the French national team, earning 30 caps and scoring 15 goals. After retiring as a player, he became a coach, leading different clubs and national teams, though his coaching career was less stable.
4. Thadée Cisowski
Thadée Cisowski, born Tadeusz Cisowski in Laszki, Poland in 1927, was a Polish-born French footballer known for his incredible goal-scoring ability.
His family moved to France in 1933, and he worked in the coal mines like his father while playing football for a local team.
Cisowski’s talent on the field became clear, and he began his professional career with FC Metz in 1947. Cisowski was impressed when he joined RC Paris in 1952.
During his eight seasons with the club, he scored 215 goals in 233 league matches. This outstanding performance earned him the Ligue 1 top-scorer title five times.
Despite these achievements, his international career was limited due to injuries. He represented France 13 times, scoring 11 goals.
Also, he scored five goals in a World Cup qualifier against Belgium in 1956. Unfortunately, Cisowski suffered from multiple injuries, including serious leg fractures, which kept him from participating in the 1954 and 1958 World Cups.
After brief stints with Valenciennes and Nantes, he retired in 1962, ending his career with an impressive 309 goals in 410 games. He also holds the record for most hat-tricks in Ligue 1, with 22 to his name.
Although not as famous as some other French football legends, Thadée Cisowski’s goal-scoring feats make him one of the best players in Ligue 1 history. He passed away in 2005 at the age of 78.
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5. Roger Piantoni
Roger Piantoni was one of the best football players in Ligue 1 history. Born on December 26, 1931, in Étain, Meuse, France, he started playing football at a local club called US Piennes.
His talent showed, and he was part of the Lorraine youth team that won the National Youth Cup in 1949. Piantoni’s professional career began with Stade de Reims where he was a key player in the team’s golden era of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
He helped Reims win three Ligue 1 titles in 1957–58, 1959–60, and 1961–62, and also won the Coupe de France in 1958.
Piantoni scored a total of 203 goals in Ligue 1, making him the sixth top scorer in the league’s history. Also, Piantoni played for France from 1952 to 1961.
He earned 37 caps scored 18 goals, and was part of the French team that reached the semifinals of the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden.
He also scored four goals during the tournament, including one in the semifinal against Brazil. Although he missed the third-place match due to an emergency appendectomy, he made a big impact.
After retiring, Piantoni became a coach for Carpentras and worked as a football commentator. A tribune at the Stade Marcel Picot, home of AS Nancy-Lorraine, is named in his honor, celebrating his lasting legacy in football.
6. Kylian Mbappé
Kylian Mbappé is one of the most exciting young players in football today. Playing for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and captaining the French national team, Mbappé is known for his incredible speed, dribbling, and goal-scoring ability.
Mbappé started playing football at a young age with AS Bondy, a local club. He then joined the famous INF Clairefontaine academy in 2011.
In 2013, he moved to AS Monaco’s youth team and made his professional debut in 2015 at just 16 years old.
His big break came in the 2016-17 season when he helped Monaco win the Ligue 1 title and reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, scoring 26 goals that season.
In 2017, Mbappé joined PSG on loan, and the deal was made permanent the following year for €180 million, making him the second-most expensive player ever and the most expensive teenager.
At PSG, he has won six Ligue 1 titles and four Coupe de France trophies, including a domestic quadruple in the 2019-20 season.
For the French national team, Mbappé made his debut in 2017 and shone at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where he became the youngest French player to score in a World Cup and the second teenager to score in a World Cup final, helping France win the tournament. In 2024, Mbappé joined Real Madrid on a free transfer to continue his impressive career.
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7. Joseph Ujlaki
Joseph Ujlak was a standout football player who made a big impact on French football. Even though he was Hungarian, Ujlaki spent most of his career in France and became a French citizen.
He played for the French national team as well. Ujlaki started his professional career with Nîmes Olympique in 1950. Over his 14-year career in Ligue 1, he scored 190 goals in 298 games, making him one of the league’s greatest goal-scorers.
His best years were with Nice, where he won the Coupe de France in 1952. In 1953, he was the league’s top scorer with 28 goals.
His excellent performances earned him a spot on the French national team, and he played 17 times and scored 7 goals.
After he retired from playing in 1964, he stayed active in football as a coach and scout. However, Joseph Ujlaki passed away on February 11, 2006, in Sète, the city where he lived after retiring.
8. Fleury Di Nallo
Fleury Di Nallo is one of the greatest players in French football history. He spent most of his career at Olympique Lyonnais, playing from 1960 to 1974.
During his time with Lyon, he made 413 appearances and scored 182 goals. Di Nallo was very talented and showed his skills from a young age.
He joined Lyon’s youth team in 1960 and moved up to the first team, debuting when he was just 17. And over 14 seasons, he became a key player for Lyon, helping the team succeed in Ligue 1 and the Coupe de la Ligue.
One of his most memorable moments was scoring a hat-trick against Sedan in the 1964-65 season, leading Lyon to a 3-1 win.
After leaving Lyon in 1974, Di Nallo played a season with Red Star and then moved to Montpellier, where he played until 1978. However, he retired with 190 goals in Ligue 1, making him one of the league’s top scorers.
9. Carlos Bianchi
Carlos Bianchi is a legendary figure in football, especially In French football. Known for being one of the greatest strikers in Argentine history, Bianchi has made a huge impact as both a player and a manager.
Bianchi started his career with Vélez Sarsfield in 1967, scoring 121 goals in 165 games. In 1973, he moved to France to play for Stade de Reims, and he scored 107 goals in 124 matches.
Later, he joined Paris Saint-Germain and added 76 more goals to his record. Bianchi returned to Vélez Sarsfield in 1980 and played until 1984.
In total, he scored 393 goals in 562 club games. This makes him one of the top scorers in both Argentine and French football.
After retiring as a player, Bianchi became a manager in 1985 with Reims. However, he became famous for his work with Vélez Sarsfield and Boca Juniors.
As a manager, he won the Copa Libertadores four times, which is a record. He also led Boca Juniors to three Intercontinental Cups.
Bianchi is celebrated for his success with Boca Juniors and is considered one of the top South American coaches ever.
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10. Gunnar Andersson
Gunnar Andersson was a top Swedish footballer, born on August 14, 1928, in Arvika, Sweden. He is best known for his amazing time at Olympique de Marseille (OM) in France, where he became the club’s all-time top scorer.
Andersson scored 194 goals in just 220 games for Marseille, which makes him one of the greatest players in Ligue 1 history.
Early in his career, Andersson played football in Sweden and earned the nickname “Säffle.” He then moved to Denmark to play for Kjøbenhavns BK.
His talent quickly impressed scouts, leading him to Marseille in the early 1950s. At OM, Andersson’s career soared. He was the top scorer in Ligue 1 for two seasons, 1951-52 and 1952-53.
His goals helped Marseille stay strong in French football, even though the club did not win major trophies during his time. They did reach the final of the Coupe de France in 1954 but lost.
Although his international career was limited due to a Swedish policy, he played once for the France B team after becoming a French citizen in 1954.
Sadly, Andersson passed away on October 1, 1969, at the age of 41 from a heart attack while heading to a match. His death was a huge loss, and he is still celebrated as one of the finest players ever to play for Olympique de Marseille.
Kenneth is a an avid soccer follower, fan and writer. He is a consistent follower of the sport and is a fan of Chelsea FC.
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