Currently, 18 clubs compete in Ligue 1, France’s top division. Although it might not have the global fame or worldwide TV audiences of other European leagues, such as the Premier League in England or La Liga in Spain, there are many well-known clubs in Ligue 1, which has also welcomed many superstars to play.
The reigning champions and the most successful side in France are Paris Saint-Germain, who can boast 11 titles since they first won Ligue 1 in 1985-86. They have gone on to dominate French football, winning the title nine times since 2012-13.
Saint-Etienne have claimed ten Ligue 1 crowns, whilst Marseille have nine Ligue 1 titles to their name. Other notable clubs include Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon), who won Ligue 1 seven years in a row between 2001 and 2008, Monaco, and Nantes, who each can boast eight French titles.
Recent history of clubs in Ligue 1
Since Ligue 1 was founded in the 1932-33 season, 74 clubs have played in the competition, with only Marseille, Metz, Montpellier, Nice, and Rennes able to claim to be the surviving founder members.
One club most people think of when discussing French football, is PSG, who remain the only club not to have suffered a points relegation from the top division. They won promotion to Ligue 1 for the 1974-75 season, having split from Paris FC in 1972, for which they were administratively relegated. However, after achieving promotion again two years later, they have stayed in France’s top-flight ever since.
There has not been much success on the European scene for French sides. Reims, who finished eleventh in Ligue 1 last season, were the first French club to reach a major European final. They faced the mighty Real Madrid in Paris in the European Cup final of 1956 but were beaten 4-3. Reims again reached the European Cup final in 1959 but were beaten again by Real Madrid in Stuttgart.
Marseille are the only French team to win the European Cup, which they won in 1993 after beating AC Milan 1-0 in Munich. This was two years after a controversial defeat to Red Star Belgrade in Bari when they were beaten in the final on penalties.
Paris Saint-Germain won the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1996, defeating Rapid Vienna 1-0 in the final in Brussels. But despite appearances for Marseille in the UEFA Cup final and Europa League final, as well as the Champions League final appearance for Monaco in 2004 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2020, no more European silverware has headed to France.
Previous Ligue 1 Top Goalscorers
Winning the Golden Boot in French Ligue 1 is always a coveted honour, and some big names can lay claim to the title. Walter Kaise of Rennes and Robert Mercier of Club Francais shared the honour in the first season of Ligue 1, with 15 goals each.
Argentinian Delio Onnis remains the all-time top goalscorer in France, with 299 goals in 449 appearances between 1972 and 1986 for Monaco, Reims, Tours, and Toulon. Just Fontaine, who scored the most goals in a World Cup finals, won the honour in the 1957-58 season with Reims, whilst Josip Skoblar was the Golden Boot winner for three successive seasons between 1970 and 1973 for Marseille.
Carlos Bianchi bettered that feat by winning four Golden Boots in a row with Reims, and Paris Saint-Germain between 1975 and 1979 before the legendary Jean-Pierre Papin went one better still by finishing as the top scorer five seasons in a row for Marseille between 1987 and 1992.
Recent season winners include Sonny Anderson, Stephane Guivarc’h, Djibril Cisse, Pauleta, Karim Benzama, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Edinson Cavani.
Kylian Mbappe is the current forward all defences fear in France, having won the Golden Boot on numerous occasions already. He has quickly risen up the all-time top scorers in Ligue 1, but who is in the running for this season’s gong?
Bet on French Ligue 1 Markets
At talkSPORT BET, you can bet on French Ligue 1, which has many markets available. You can choose from ‘Match betting’, where you can simply choose who you think might win a game that week. Or, you have other options such as betting on ‘Both teams to score,’ how many goals there might be in a specific game, whether the total goals will be an odd or even number, and whether a team can win their game without conceding a goal.
There are also Ligue 1 Winner markets that allow you to gamble on who might win the Ligue 1 title and which teams might finish in the top four at the end of the season.
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