The Best French Players In Premier League History

French footballers represent the highest foreign contingent in Premier League history. No other nation has had more players in England like the European nation. Well over 150 French players have played in the Premier League with 29 of them playing for Arsenal alone. Another interesting fact is that they have had legendary players across different playing positions. You think left-back then Patrice Evra comes to mind, you think striker and it will be a joke to overlook the great Thierry Henry.

A cherry on the cake when considering French footballers in the Premier League is that they are highly successful. The best of them won trophies in bucket loads. The likes of Pires, Vieira, and Henry were even part of Arsenal’s great invincible team. With a host of them having featured in the EPL, we have taken the difficult task to rank the best of them in a countdown. Don’t get mad at us if your favorite player is not on our list. These guys were just too good for us to ignore.

All Time Best French Players In Premier League

Thierry Henry
Eric Cantona
Patrick Vieira
David Ginola
Marcel Desailly
Robert Pires
Claude Makelele
Emmanuel Petit
Patrice Evra
N’ Golo Kante

Current Top 10 Best French Players in Premier League

N’Golo Kanté
Paul Pogba
Aymeric Laporte
Anthony Martial
Olivier Giroud
Alexandre Lacazette
Étienne Capoue
Moussa Sissoko
Hugo Lloris
Samuel Umtiti

Best French EPL Players Of All Time

France is the second most-represented country in epl competition after England. Below is our top ten Premier League’s Frenchmen, and we want to know who you think has been the best.

1. Thierry Henry

And the king of all French footballers to ever play in the Premier League is the one and only Thierry Henry. His signing by Wenger in 1999 was somewhat a gamble as he has never been prolific before then. 8 years later, he had played over 250 PL games for the gunners and had become their record goalscorer. His performance in the 2003/2004 unbeaten season was majestic. Henry scored 30 goals and assisted 6 that season meaning he was involved in 36 of Arsenal’s 73 goals that season. With 175 goals, all for Arsenal, Thierry Henry is the second highest-scoring foreign player in Premier League history. He won two Premier League titles and two FA Cups as an Arsenal player and currently manages Montreal Impact in the U.S.

2. Eric Cantona

Cantona had a quiet career until he joined Manchester United from Leeds United in 1992. Five years did he spend at Old Trafford and went on to be an important player for Alex Ferguson. He even captained the Red Devils at some point and was also banned for assault on a fan at some point. He won four successive PL titles with Manchester United scoring 64 Premier League goals before retiring with them in 1997.

3. Patrick Vieira

So we are in the top three players as Vieira ranks third on our list of French footballers. He was signed by A.C. Milan as a young player in 1996 and played for Arsenal till 2005. The rest they say is history. He formed a watertight partnership with Emannuel Petit which led Arsenal to the double in 1997/1998. He also captained the North London team to an unbeaten Premier League winning season in 2003/2004. And how can we forget his bitter rivalry with Manchester United’s Roy Keane in the glory days? Vieira retired from Manchester City in 2011.

4. David Ginola

Talk about an artist with the ball. Ginola was a winger cum midfielder. His style of play lacked nothing. He had the guile, the eye for a pass, and can score goals too. He was signed by Newcastle in 1995 and went to play in England till his retirement in 2002. He starred for Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, and Everton as well. His time in England was not without success as he won the now-defunct UEFA Intertoto Cup with Aston Villa and the League Cup with Spurs.

5. Marcel Desailly

Desailly is one of the numerous French footballers with African roots. The powerful central defender was born in Accra, Ghana but began his football journey with Nantes in French Ligue 1. His solidity at the back soon saw him play for Marseille and A.C. Milan before joining Chelsea in 1998. He formed a strong bond with fellow Frenchman Frank Leboeuf and played for Chelsea till 2004. The Blues were no Premier League contenders in his time but he did win one FA Cup and one community shield. He also captained the side.

6. Robert Pires

Pires is an Arsenal legend and was part of the 2003/2004 invincible side. He was signed from Marseille in 1998 and he played predominantly as a winger for the Gunners till 2006. He scored 62 league goals for Arsenal which included a lot of worldies especially that sweet lob against Southampton in 2002/2003. He left Arsenal winning two Premier League titles and two FA Cups.

7. Claude Makelele

Chelsea has had their own fair share of talented French footballers. One of them is the defensive midfield maestro named Makelele. He was signed by Real Madrid in 2003 and the reason they signed him was obvious. Makelele was always literally sitting in front of the defense. Unlike defensive midfielders who venture into attack these days, Makelele was the embodiment of what a holding midfield player should be- stay in front of the back four, snuff out threats. He left Chelsea in 2008 having won six trophies including two Premier League titles.

8. Emmanuel Petit

Petit is one of the 29 French footballers who have played for Arsenal in the Premier League. Like Evra, he also moved to England from Monaco in 1997 and played for the North London Club till 2000. He returned to England with Chelsea in 2001 after a year with Barcelona. At Arsenal, he formed a formidable holding midfield partnership with Vieira which helped Arsenal to a Premier League and FA Cup double in his first season. A recurring knee injury blighted the end of his Premier League career with Chelsea with whom he retired in 2004.

9. Patrice Evra

Evra had become a proven left-back before he joined Manchester United from Monaco in 2006. He had even played in a UEFA Champions League final so United signing him was a no-brainer. Evra spent 8 years at Old Trafford as United’s first choice in the left-back position and won every trophy available domestically except the FA Cup. Evra has five (yeah you read right) Premier League winners medal to his name and is one of the best French footballers to play in the EPL.

10. N’ Golo Kante

Kante’s journey in England has been a fairytale. The defensive midfielder was signed from Caen for a very small fee by Leicester City in 2015. By the end of the 2015/2016 season, Kante had established himself as the best holding midfield player. He also led Leicester to an unlikely EPL triumph with 5000/1 odds at the beginning of the season. He has since moved to Chelsea where he won the Premier League again in 2016/2017. He has also won the FA Cup and Europa League with the blues. All of these in five years.

Petit: Leaving Arsenal for Barcelona was my biggest regret

All France Player that played in Premier League

Thierry Henry is the second highest-scoring foreign player in Premier League history, He scored 175 goals, for Arsenal.

Patrice Evra won the Premier League five times with Manchester United
Samassi Abou – West Ham United – 1997–99
Didier Agathe – Aston Villa – 2006–07
Rayan Aït-Nouri – Wolverhampton Wanderers – 2020–
Ibrahim Amadou – Norwich City – 2019–20
Morgan Amalfitano – West Bromwich Albion, West Ham United – 2013–15
Jordan Amavi – Aston Villa – 2015–16
Jérémie Aliadière – Arsenal, West Ham United, Middlesbrough – 2001–09
Bernard Allou – Nottingham Forest – 1998–99
Pierre-Yves André – Bolton Wanderers – 2002–03
Nicolas Anelka – Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion – 1996–99, 2001–05, 2006–12, 2013–14
El Hadji Ba – Sunderland – 2013–14
Ibrahim Ba – Bolton Wanderers – 2003–04
Tiémoué Bakayoko – Chelsea – 2017–18
Fabien Barthez – Manchester United – 2000–03
Alphonse Areola – Fulham – 2020–
Pegguy Arphexad – Leicester City, Liverpool – 1997–2000, 2001–02
Cédric Avinel – Watford – 2006–07
Hatem Ben Arfa – Newcastle United, Hull City – 2010–15
Mathieu Berson – Aston Villa – 2004–05
Olivier Bernard – Newcastle United, Southampton – 2001–05
Laurent Blanc – Manchester United – 2001–03
Patrick Blondeau – Sheffield Wednesday – 1997–98
Thierry Bonalair – Nottingham Forest – 1998–99
Jérôme Bonnissel – Fulham – 2003–04
Alexandre Bonnot – Watford – 1999–2000
Zoumana Camara – Leeds United – 2003–04
Vincent Candela – Bolton Wanderers – 2004–05
Jean-Alain Boumsong – Newcastle United – 2004–06
Rémy Cabella – Newcastle United – 2014–15
Étienne Capoue – Tottenham Hotspur, Watford – 2013–20
Patrice Carteron – Sunderland – 2000–01
Johan Cavalli – Watford – 2006–07
Cyril Chapuis – Leeds United – 2003–04
Bruno Cheyrou – Liverpool – 2002–2004
Eric Cantona – Leeds United, Manchester United – 1992–97
Yohan Cabaye – Newcastle United, Crystal Palace – 2011–14, 2015–18
Laurent Charvet – Chelsea, Newcastle United, Manchester City – 1997–2001
David Bellion – Sunderland, Manchester United, West Ham United – 2001–06
Olivier Dacourt – Everton, Leeds United, Fulham – 1998–99, 2000–03, 2008–09
Djibril Cissé – Liverpool, Sunderland, Queens Park Rangers – 2004–06, 2008–09, 2011–13
Pascal Chimbonda – Wigan Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers – 2005–11
Pascal Cygan – Arsenal – 2002–2006
Philippe Christanval – Fulham – 2005–2008
Gérald Cid – Bolton Wanderers – 2007–2008
Patrick Colleter – Southampton – 1998–2000
Ousmane Dabo – Manchester City – 2006–2007
Édouard Cissé – West Ham United – 2002–2003
Aly Cissokho – Liverpool, Aston Villa – 2013–2016
Gaël Clichy – Arsenal, Manchester City – 2003–2017
Francis Coquelin – Arsenal – 2011–2013, 2014–2018
Laurent Courtois – West Ham United – 2001–2002
Stéphane Dalmat – Tottenham Hotspur – 2003–2004
Loïc Damour – Cardiff City – 2018–2019
Jean-Claude Darcheville – Nottingham Forest – 1998–1999
Mickaël Debève – Middlesbrough – 2001–2002
Mathieu Debuchy – Newcastle United, Arsenal – 2012–2017
Moussa Dembélé – Fulham – 2013–2014
Marcel Desailly – Chelsea – 1998–2004
Didier Deschamps – Chelsea – 1999–2000
Abou Diaby – Arsenal – 2005–14
Adama Diakhaby – Huddersfield Town – 2018–2019
Modibo Diakité – Sunderland – 2013–2014
Ibrahima Diallo – Southampton – 2020–
Alou Diarra – West Ham United – 2012–2013
Lassana Diarra – Chelsea, Arsenal, Portsmouth – 2005–2009
Didier Digard – Middlesbrough – 2008–2009
Lucas Digne – Everton – 2018–
Bernard Diomède – Liverpool – 2000–2001
Issa Diop – West Ham United – 2018–
Sylvain Distin – Newcastle United, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Everton, Bournemouth – 2001–2016
Martin Djetou – Fulham, Bolton Wanderers – 2002–04, 2005–06
Youri Djorkaeff – Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers – 2001–05
Didier Domi – Newcastle United, Leeds United – 1998–2001, 2003–04
Abdoulaye Doucouré – Watford, Everton – 2016–
Pierre Ducrocq – Derby County – 2001–02
Christophe Dugarry – Birmingham City – 2002–04
Franck Dumas – Newcastle United – 1999–2000
Mario Espartero – Bolton Wanderers – 2001–02
Patrice Evra – Manchester United, West Ham United – 2005–14, 2017–18
Julien Faubert – West Ham United – 2007–11
Fabrice Fernandes – Southampton, Bolton Wanderers – 2001–06
Jean-Michel Ferri – Liverpool – 1998–99
Mathieu Flamini – Arsenal, Crystal Palace – 2004–08, 2013–17
Wesley Fofana – Leicester City – 2020–
Marc-Antoine Fortuné – West Bromwich Albion – 2008–09, 2010–12
Dimitri Foulquier – Watford – 2019–20
William Gallas – Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur – 2001–13
Rémi Garde – Arsenal – 1996–99
David Ginola – Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Everton – 1995–2002
Olivier Giroud – Arsenal, Chelsea – 2012–
Gaël Givet – Blackburn Rovers – 2008–12
Alain Goma – Newcastle United, Fulham – 1999–2006
Bafétimbi Gomis – Swansea City – 2014–16
Yoan Gouffran – Newcastle United – 2012–16
Hérold Goulon – Blackburn Rovers – 2010–11
Elliot Grandin – Blackpool – 2010–11
Xavier Gravelaine – Watford – 1999–2000
François Grenet – Derby County – 2001–02
Léandre Griffit – Southampton – 2003–05
Gilles Grimandi – Arsenal – 1997–2002
David Grondin – Arsenal – 1998–99
Matteo Guendouzi – Arsenal – 2018–20
Frédéric Guilbert – Aston Villa – 2019–20
Stéphane Guivarc’h – Newcastle United – 1998–99
Thierry Henry – Arsenal – 1999–2007, 2011–12
Valérien Ismaël – Crystal Palace – 1997–98
Younès Kaboul – Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Watford – 2007–18
N’Golo Kanté – Leicester City, Chelsea – 2015–
Olivier Kapo – Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic – 2007–10
Christian Karembeu – Middlesbrough – 2000–01
Marc Keller – West Ham United – 1998–2000
Yann Kermorgant – Bournemouth – 2015–16
Anthony Knockaert – Leicester City, Brighton & Hove Albion – 2014–15, 2017–19
Laurent Koscielny – Arsenal – 2010–19
Alexandre Lacazette – Arsenal – 2017–
Bernard Lama – West Ham United – 1997–98
Bernard Lambourde – Chelsea – 1997–2001
Aymeric Laporte – Manchester City – 2017–
Matthieu Louis-Jean – Nottingham Forest – 1998–99
Patrice Luzi – Liverpool – 2003–04
Mickaël Madar – Everton – 1997–99
Claude Makélélé – Chelsea – 2003–08
Steed Malbranque – Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland – 2001–11
Florent Malouda – Chelsea – 2007–13
Steve Mandanda – Crystal Palace – 2016–17
Mikael Mandron – Sunderland – 2012–13, 2014–15
Eliaquim Mangala – Manchester City, Everton – 2014–16, 2017–18
Steve Marlet – Fulham – 2001–04
Anthony Martial – Manchester United – 2015–
Lilian Martin – Derby County – 2000–01
Sylvain Marveaux – Newcastle United – 2011–14
Jean-Philippe Mateta – Crystal Palace – 2020–
Neal Maupay – Brighton & Hove Albion – 2019–
Youl Mawéné – Derby County – 2000–02
Lilian Laslandes – Sunderland – 2001–02
Pierre Laurent – Leeds United – 1996–97
Florent Laville – Bolton Wanderers – 2002–04
Maxime Le Marchand – Fulham – 2018–19, 2020–21
Ulrich Le Pen – Ipswich Town – 2001–02
Anthony Le Tallec – Liverpool, Sunderland – 2003–06
Frank Leboeuf – Chelsea – 1996–2001
Sylvain Legwinski – Fulham – 2001–06
Florian Lejeune – Newcastle United – 2017–20
Hugo Lloris – Tottenham Hotspur – 2012–
Benjamin Mendy – Manchester City – 2017–
Bernard Mendy – Bolton Wanderers, Hull City – 2002–03, 2008–10
Illan Meslier – Leeds United – 2020–
Anthony Modeste – Blackburn Rovers – 2011–12
Lys Mousset – Bournemouth, Sheffield United – 2016–
Steven Mouyokolo – Hull City, Wolverhampton Wanderers – 2009–11
Yann M’Vila – Sunderland – 2015–16
Christian Nadé – Sheffield United – 2006–07
Lilian Nalis – Leicester City – 2003–04
Iliman Ndiaye – Sheffield United – 2020–
Christian Negouai – Manchester City – 2004–05
Bruno Ngotty – Bolton Wanderers – 2001–06
Tanguy Ndombele – Tottenham Hotspur – 2019–
David N’Gog – Liverpool, Bolton Wanderers, Swansea City – 2008–2012, 2013–14
Samir Nasri – Arsenal, Manchester City, West Ham United – 2008–2017, 2018–2019
Georges-Kévin Nkoudou – Tottenham Hotspur, Burnley – 2016–20
Niels Nkounkou – Everton – 2020–
Charles N’Zogbia – Newcastle United, Wigan Athletic, Aston Villa – 2004–13, 2014–16
Steven Nzonzi – Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City – 2009–15
Gabriel Obertan – Manchester United, Newcastle United – 2009–16
Noé Pamarot – Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth – 2004–09
Dimitri Payet – West Ham United – 2015–17
Lionel Pérez – Sunderland – 1996–97
Sébastien Pérez – Blackburn Rovers – 1998–99
Vincent Péricard – Portsmouth, Stoke City – 2003–04, 2005–06, 2008–09
Emmanuel Petit – Arsenal, Chelsea – 1997–2000, 2001–04
Jérémy Pied – Southampton – 2016–18
Frédéric Piquionne – Portsmouth, West Ham United – 2009–11
Robert Pires – Arsenal, Aston Villa – 2000–06, 2010–11
Damien Plessis – Liverpool – 2007–09
Paul Pogba – Manchester United – 2011–12, 2016–
William Prunier – Manchester United – 1995–96
Sébastien Puygrenier – Bolton Wanderers – 2008–09
Franck Queudrue – Middlesbrough, Fulham, Birmingham City – 2001–08, 2009–10
Loïc Rémy – Queens Park Rangers, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Crystal Palace – 2012–17
Anthony Réveillère – Sunderland – 2014–15
Emmanuel Rivière – Newcastle United – 2014–16
Valentin Roberge – Sunderland – 2013–15
Laurent Robert – Newcastle United, Portsmouth, Derby County – 2001–06, 2007–08
Bruno Rodriguez – Bradford City – 1999–2000
Franck Rolling – Leicester City – 1996–97
Éric Roy – Sunderland – 1999–2001
Bacary Sagna – Arsenal, Manchester City – 2007–17
Yaya Sanogo – Arsenal, Crystal Palace – 2013–15
Louis Saha – Newcastle United, Fulham, Manchester United, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland – 1998–99, 2001–13
Allan Saint-Maximin – Newcastle United – 2019–
Mamadou Sakho – Liverpool, Crystal Palace – 2013–
Morgan Sanson – Aston Villa – 2020–
Sébastien Schemmel – West Ham United, Portsmouth – 2000–04
Morgan Schneiderlin – Southampton, Manchester United, Everton – 2012–20
Antoine Sibierski – Manchester City, Newcastle United, Wigan Athletic – 2003–09
Djibril Sidibé – Everton – 2019–20
Mikaël Silvestre – Manchester United, Arsenal – 1999–2010
Florent Sinama Pongolle – Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers – 2003–06
Moussa Sissoko – Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur – 2012–
David Sommeil – Manchester City, Sheffield United – 2002–07
Sébastien Squillaci – Arsenal – 2010–12
Benjamin Stambouli – Tottenham Hotspur – 2014–15
Ludovic Sylvestre – Blackpool – 2010–11
Allan Tchaptchet – Southampton – 2020–
David Terrier – West Ham United – 1997–98
Florian Thauvin – Newcastle United – 2015–16
Kévin Théophile-Catherine – Cardiff City – 2013–14
Patrick Valéry – Blackburn Rovers – 1997–98
Yan Valery – Southampton – 2018–21
Jordan Veretout – Aston Villa – 2015–16
Patrick Vieira – Arsenal, Manchester City – 1996–2005, 2009–11
Grégory Vignal – Liverpool, Portsmouth, Birmingham City – 2000–03, 2005–06, 2009–10
Jean-Guy Wallemme – Coventry City – 1998–99
Sylvain Wiltord – Arsenal – 2000–04
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa – Newcastle United – 2012–14
Kurt Zouma – Chelsea, Stoke City, Everton – 2014–
Ronald Zubar – Wolverhampton Wanderers – 2009–12

Top French Players from Fifa 20

Top French Players

ST: Kylian Mbappé (89) – Paris Saint-Germain
CDM: N’Golo Kanté (89) – Chelsea
CF: Antoine Griezmann (89) – FC Barcelona
GK: Hugo Lloris (88) – Tottenham Hotspur
CM: Paul Pogba (88) – Manchester United
CF: Karim Benzema (87) – Real Madrid
CB: Aymeric Laporte (87) – Manchester City
ST: Alexandre Lacazette (86) – Arsenal
CB: Samuel Umtiti (86) – FC Barcelona
CB: Clément Lenglet (85) – FC Barcelona
CB: Raphaël Varane (85) – Real Madrid
CDM: Blaise Matuidi (85) – Piemonte Calcio
CAM: Nabil Fekir (84) – Real Betis
RW: Ousmane Dembélé (84) – FC Barcelona
LM: Kingsley Coman (84) – FC Bayern München
CB: Lucas Hernández (84) – FC Bayern München
GK: Stéphane Ruffier (84) – AS Saint-Étienne
LB: Lucas Digne (83) – Everton
ST: Wissam Ben Yedder (83) – AS Monaco Football Club SA
CM: Corentin Tolisso (83) – FC Bayern München
LM: Thomas Lemar (83) – Atlético Madrid
CM: Adrien Rabiot (83) – Piemonte Calcio
LW: Anthony Martial (83) – Manchester United
ST: Sébastien Haller (83) – West Ham United
RW: Florian Thauvin (83) – Olympique de Marseille
GK: Benjamin Lecomte (82) – AS Monaco Football Club SA
CB: Presnel Kimpembe (82) – Paris Saint-Germain
LB: Jérôme Roussillon (82) – VfL Wolfsburg
ST: Olivier Giroud (82) – Chelsea
GK: Alphonse Areola (82) – Real Madrid

Best French Attackers

ST: Kylian Mbappé (89) – Paris Saint-Germain
CF: Antoine Griezmann (89) – FC Barcelona
CF: Karim Benzema (87) – Real Madrid
ST: Alexandre Lacazette (86) – Arsenal
RW: Ousmane Dembélé (84) – FC Barcelona
ST: Wissam Ben Yedder (83) – AS Monaco Football Club SA
LW: Anthony Martial (83) – Manchester United
ST: Sébastien Haller (83) – West Ham United
RW: Florian Thauvin (83) – Olympique de Marseille
ST: Olivier Giroud (82) – Chelsea

Best French Midfielders

CDM: N’Golo Kanté (89) – Chelsea
CM: Paul Pogba (88) – Manchester United
CDM: Blaise Matuidi (85) – Piemonte Calcio
CAM: Nabil Fekir (84) – Real Betis
LM: Kingsley Coman (84) – FC Bayern München
CM: Corentin Tolisso (83) – FC Bayern München
LM: Thomas Lemar (83) – Atlético Madrid
CM: Adrien Rabiot (83) – Piemonte Calcio
CDM: Abdoulaye Doucouré (81) – Watford
CM: Tanguy Ndombele (81) – Tottenham Hotspur

Best French Defenders

CB: Aymeric Laporte (87) – Manchester City
CB: Samuel Umtiti (86) – FC Barcelona
CB: Clément Lenglet (85) – FC Barcelona
CB: Raphaël Varane (85) – Real Madrid
CB: Lucas Hernández (84) – FC Bayern München
LB: Lucas Digne (83) – Everton
CB: Presnel Kimpembe (82) – Paris Saint-Germain
LB: Jérôme Roussillon (82) – VfL Wolfsburg
CB: Jérémy Mathieu (81) – Sporting CP
LB: Ferland Mendy (80) – Real Madrid

Best French Goalkeepers

GK: Hugo Lloris (88) – Tottenham Hotspur
GK: Stéphane Ruffier (84) – AS Saint-Étienne
GK: Benjamin Lecomte (82) – AS Monaco Football Club SA
GK: Alphonse Areola (82) – Real Madrid
GK: Steve Mandanda (80) – Olympique de Marseille
GK: Yohann Pelé (74) – Olympique de Marseille
GK: Ludovic Butelle (74) – Angers SCO
GK: Romain Salin (74) – Stade Rennais FC
GK: Gautier Larsonneur (73) – Stade Brestois 29
GK: Vincent Demarconnay (73) – Paris FC