The French league has always been a haven for talented young players on the rise and has provided a good platform for rising stars who later become household names. Some of the biggest names in the world, who established their own legacies while competing in the league, currently hold the all-time goal-scoring records for Ligue 1. Find the list of the Top 10 All-Time Goalscorers In Ligue 1 below.
=10. Gunnar Andersson – 179 Goals
He was a football player from Sweden who specialized in the striker position. As the club’s top scorer and one of Olympique de Marseille’s finest attackers, he is highly respected. Before relocating to Denmark to play for Kjbenhavns BK and then Olympique de Marseille, where he established himself as a crucial player, Andersson began his professional career in Sweden. Andersson was never selected to play for the Swedish national football team despite his success in France because the squad had a rule against selecting players who were not Swedish nationals. After attaining French citizenship in 1954, he did, however, earn one cap for the France B squad in 1956, but owing to his performance, he was never called upon again.
=10. Carlos Bianchi – 179 Goals
El Virrey, sometimes known as “The Viceroy,” is a former manager and player for Argentina’s national team. Several French sporting organisations, notably Stade de Reims, Paris Saint-Germain, and RC Strasbourg Alsace, have made note of him in their history. In addition to having a good career as a striker in Argentina and France, Bianchi was a prolific goal scorer. He is most recognised, though, for having coached Vélez Sarsfield and Boca Juniors to several championships, making him one of the greatest coaches in history. He is the only manager to have won four Copa Libertadores. He also holds the record at Velez Sarsfield for most goals scored with 206.
8. Fleury Di Nallo – 187 Goals
During the 1960s and 1970s, Fleury Di Nallo was a renowned player for Olympique Lyonnais and one of the top attackers in Division 1. Di Nallo earned the moniker “Le Petit Prince de Gerland” (The Little Prince of Gerland) from Lyon supporters after playing 489 games and scoring 222 goals with the club. He finished his career with 187 goals for the French League, including 182 with Lyon. In his first full season at Lyon, Di Nallo scored 21 goals in 23 league games, including three hat-tricks and four goals in six Coupe de France contests. He played ten times for France between 1962 and 1971, scoring twice in a 2-3 loss to Hungary in his maiden international match.
7. Joseph Ujlaki – 190 Goals
Joseph Ujlaki, a French football player of Hungarian ethnicity, was a prominent scorer in Division 1 in the 1950s and 1960s. One of France’s all-time best football players, he is well respected. It is hardly surprising that Joseph Ujlaki, who scored 190 goals in 438 competitive games, is one of Racing Paris’s all-time finest players. Additionally, he played for OGC Nice and FC Metz.
6. Roger Piantoni – 203 Goals
Roger Piantoni played in Ligue 1 for FC Nancy and Stade de Reims during his career, scoring 203 goals in 394 appearances. Piantoni, who is recognised as one of the finest players to don the El Tri shirt, acquired the nickname Bout d’chou, which translates to “Cabbage Tip” in French, as a result of the French crowd’s awe of his goal-scoring skill. Piantoni led Reims to three Ligue 1 championships in 1958, 1960, and 1962. He participated in the 1959 European Champions Cup final. He was the Ligue 1 leader in goals scored while playing for Nancy in 1951 and Reims in 1961.
5. Thadee Cisowski – 206 Goals
Son of a Polish immigrant, Tadeusz Cisowski, was one of the Championnat de France’s most feared goal scorers. During his time with Valenciennes FC, Racing Club de France, and FC Metz, he scored 206 goals in 286 games. In 1956, 1957, and 1959, he guided Racing Club de France to three Ligue 1 scoring championships, but he was unable to bring home any hardware for The Penguins.
4. Roger Courtois – 210 Goals
Roger Courtois, who succeeded everywhere he played, has honored even Ligue 1. The striker, one of Ligue 1’s top scorers all-time, scored 210 goals in just 288 games while also contributing some excellent assists to increase his tally. From 1932 through 1956, he played before transitioning to management. Courtois, a Swiss-born athlete with French ancestry, represented France in the 1934 and 1938 FIFA World Cups making him one of the most decorated players on our list of Top 10 All-Time Goalscorers In Ligue 1.
3. Herve Revelli – 216 Goals
Herve Revelli is one of a rare handful of athletes who, during the course of their careers, won the French Championship a total of seven times. He shares the lead in goals scored in the Derby Rhone-Alpes between Saint-Etienne and Lyon with ex-Lyon player Fleury Di Nallo with 14 goals. The legendary former French footballer was phenomenal, scoring 31 goals in Ligue 1 in 1969. The record was unbroken for fifty years until Kylian Mbappé of PSG accomplished the unthinkable in 2019. Mbappe became the first French player to register at least 30 goals in a Ligue 1 season following Revelli’s record.
2. Bernard Lacombe – 255 Goals
Lacombe mostly played for Lyon and Bordeaux, where he captured three league titles in the 1980s. He got his first cap for France in 1973. Later, Lacombe went on to play for his nation at the 1978 World Cup, when he scored against Italy the first goal of the tournament and the quickest goal ever by a French player in just 30 seconds. With 255 goals scored in Ligue 1, he is the second-best scorer in Ligue 1 history, after Delio Onnis. He is also one of the top scorers in Ligue 1 overall. After his spectacular playing career came to an end in 1987, Lacombe worked in numerous off-field positions to assist Lyon in becoming a dominating force in France.
1. Delio Onnis – 299 Goals
With 299 goals, he currently holds the league record for most goals scored in Ligue 1, and he has five seasons in which he ended as the league’s top scorer. Between 1966 and 1986, Delio spent the most of his career with Stade de Reims, AS Monaco, Tours FC, and Sporting Toulon Var. While playing with Monaco, he won one league championship and one Coupe de France. Delio was born in Italy, but when he was a little child, his family relocated to Argentina, giving him the Argentine moniker “El Tano” (the Italian). Argentina, a nation that favoured players who stayed in the domestic league, never chose Onnis although he tops our list of Top 10 All-Time Goalscorers In Ligue 1 history.
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