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French football has a long and distinguished history, having been the nation that, perhaps more than any other, shaped the modern game.
European club competitions, such as the Champions League, were conceived by the French, and while their clubs have had limited success on that scene, over the past two decades, they have boasted one of the finest national teams in the world, with a tremendous depth in talent.
There are, therefore, numerous outstanding players missing from this list, among them David Trezeguet, Laurent Blanc and Patrick Vieira, but here are the 10 finest French players of all time:
#10 Just Fontaine
Born in Morocco, Just Fontaine’s name continues to live in footballing history as the player who has scored more goals than any other at a single World Cup tournament. In 1958, he scored an incredible 13 in only six outings as France finished third behind Pele’s Brazil and hosts Sweden.
But Fontaine was not merely a one-summer wonder. On both the French domestic front and European scene he was a prolific scorer. He was the leading scorer in the European Cup of 1958-59, despite his Reims side falling to Real Madrid in the final.
He finished his career having scored nearly a goal per game over the course of 12 years.
#9 Eric Cantona
Known as ‘King Eric’, the great forward of the 1990s had an insatiable appetite for controversy. He is most infamously remembered for his 'Kung-fu' kick on a Crystal Palace fan in January 1995. It led to him serving a two-month prison sentence and receiving an eight-month ban from football.
But Cantona was an unbelievably talented footballer when he had his correct attitude and was one of the driving forces behind Manchester United ending a 25-year drought as English champions, setting them up to become one of the world’s biggest clubs.
His incredible feats have led him to be named by many critics as the finest Premier League player of all time, but these continue to be overshadowed by his attitude, which saw him cut short his France career and then retire aged just 30.
#8 Jean-Pierre Papin
One of four Frenchmen ever to win the Ballon d’Or, Papin was the game’s premier striker in the early part of the 1990s. Having emerged at Valenciennes then flourished in Belgium with Club Brugge, he excelled with Marseille and won the game’s greatest individual prize in 1991 after a blistering season.
AC Milan moved to sign him for a world record fee at the time, around £10 million, but while he scored 20 goals in his first season in Serie A, he never settled and was moved on to Bayern Munich. He never quite regained the lustre of the early part of his career, in which he became synonymous with incredible acrobatic volleys.
He was also unfortunate to find himself in the France team when it was at a particularly low ebb, flopping at Euro 92 and failing to qualify for World Cup 94.
Nevertheless, there was no doubting Papin’s talents.
#7 Raymond Kopa
As modern football was beginning to take shape, there is little doubt that one of the great stars of the game was Raymond Kopa. In each of the first four years the Ballon d’Or was awarded, he placed in the top three, and in 1958 he claimed the prize.
Born to a Polish family in the north of France, he an attacker noted for both his creativity and scoring power. Indeed, he was regarded as one of the most entertaining players of his generation and achieved such acclaim with Reims that Real Madrid signed him in 1956. After a three-year stint in Spain, where he won three European Cups, he returned to his previous club.
Kopa passed away earlier this year, leading to the residents of Angers successfully petitioning for their local stadium to be renamed in his honour.
#6 Didier Deschamps
Current France boss Didier Deschamps was once disparagingly dubbed a ‘water carrier’ by Eric Cantona, who was left cool by the midfielder’s methodical, almost mechanic approach to the game.
What Cantona saw as a weakness, though, others saw as a strength.
Deschamps remains the youngest captain ever to lift the Champions League trophy when he helped Marseille to the title in 1992-93, but after the Ligue 1 side were relegated after it was discovered several opponents had been bribed in a vital league match, he moved to Juventus.
Serie A suited his tactical approach to the match and he became a legend in Turin. Juve’s peak matched that of Deschamps, who helped them to three successive Champions League finals, winning the 1995-96 edition.
On the international stage, he was a member of the great side that won both the World Cup of 1998 and the European Championship two years later – the first side to win a Euros as world champions.
#5 Marcel Desailly
Desailly, who was known as ‘The Rock’, enjoyed a distinguished professional career that spanned two decades and saw him begin with Nantes before moving on to giants such as Marseille, Milan and Chelsea.
Born in Ghana, he moved to France as a four-year-old and it would be for his adopted country that he claimed fame on the international scene, turning out 116 times, winning the World Cup and European Championship.
On the club scene, he twice won the Champions League, once with Marseille and once with Milan, with whom he also won two Serie A titles.
Due to his hard tackling and incredibly consistent nature, he was named in the Premier League’s Team of the Decade following its inception, and he was twice a member of the European Championship team of the Tournament, in 1996 and 2000.
#4 Lilian Thuram
No player in the history of French football has played for the national team more than Lilian Thuram. His total of 142 caps means that he has played in over 17% of all of France’s international’s – not bad going given their first was in 1904!
Thuram is regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation and the number of matches he amassed is testimony not only to his qualities but also to his robustness.
He started his career with Monaco as a 19-year-old and moved to Italy in 1996. He settled in Serie A and played five years each for both Parma and Juventus. Two years at Barcelona completed his career, but there may have been more had PSG’s doctors not found evidence of a heart problem as he appeared poised to sign for them in 2008.
Thuram was a versatile performer and was capable of playing in the heart of the defence or on the right. He was not a regular scorer netted his only two strikes for France at the most important time, allowing them to beat Croatia in the semi-final of the 1998 World Cup when reduced to 10 men.
#3 Thierry Henry
France’s all-time top scorer with 51 goals, Henry was emblematic both on the international and club scene, where he is remembered most prominently due to his time with Arsenal. Indeed, he is the Gunners’ record scorer.
He came through the famed Monaco youth academy before moving to Juventus. After struggling to settle in Turin, it was Arsene Wenger’s decision to transform him into a centre forward that proved pivotal in his career. From that time, there was no looking back.
Henry has scored some of the most iconic goals of all time in the Premier League and played a starring role as the Gunners won the title on two occasions, including the Invincible 2003-04 season. At Barcelona, he claimed the club game’s greatest prize, winning the Champions League.
By that time, he had already pocketed the World Cup and European Championship titles with France, having been selected in 1998 as something of a wildcard pick.
#2 Michel Platini
There are strong arguments to suggest that Michel Platini may be the finest French footballer of all time. After all, he won three Ballon d’Or titles in the 1980s, more than the rest of his countrymen combined.
He was also part of one of the greatest international midfields ever seen – the famed ‘Carré Magique’ that also contained Alain Giresse, Jean Tigana and Jean Fernandez – that helped France to Euro 1984.
One of the most cultured and imaginative No.10s the game has ever seen, he was a prolific scorer with club and country, achieving iconic status during his five-year spell with Juventus.
Unfortunately for ‘Platoche’, his post-football career, which saw him rise to become president of UEFA, has been marred by scandal and he is currently in the midst of an eight-year ban from football-related activities.
#1 Zinedine Zidane
Perhaps the greatest footballer of all-time, there have been few artists as great as Zidane to take to the football field. He was apparently capable of everything with the ball at his feet, and achieved technical levels of incredible brilliance.
Zidane shot to fame after moving to Juventus in 1996 and was the key protagonist as France lifted the World Cup in 1998. By scoring two headers in the final against Brazil, despite having a mediocre tournament by his otherwise lofty standards, he proved that he was more than a mere artist; he was capable of deciding matches of the utmost importance.
It was a habit he continued throughout his career, in which he helped Juventus to win Serie A twice before moving to Real Madrid and helping the great Bernabeu side to break their long duck without a European trophy. He could barely have done it in any more spectacular a fashion, scoring an incredible winning volley in the final of 2002 that will go down in the game’s history.
In total, he won 108 caps for France, showing his mercurial side in his final competitive appearance as he was sent off in the 2006 World Cup final for headbutting Marco Materazzi. Earlier in that same match, he scored a penalty with a Panenka – the type of brilliance in the highest pressure situation that few are capable of.
