Top 10 French Players

France have produced many talented players over the years and especially over the last few years where they've seen a number of talented players come through.

They arguably have the best youth system in the world because of the young players they've produced and what a lot of them have gone on to achieve since.

That's certainly been the case for the last five to six years because the players they've produced during that time have been some of the most exciting talents in Europe.

PSG pair Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola have been the most recent players to have come through and both have already made their mark at PSG by playing a key role in their Champions League win last season.

The number of great players they've had during the modern era is incredible but not all of them made it onto the list with the likes of Franck Ribery, Lillian Thuram, Claude Makelele and N'Golo Kante missing out.

Maybe Ribery should've been on it out of those four names because of what he did at Bayern Munich and the fact that he finished third in the Ballon D'or in 2013.

Now here here is the list:

Thierry Henry

Patrick Vieira

Eric Cantona

Zinedine Zidane

Karim Benzema

Kylian Mbappe

Raphael Varane

Antoine Griezmann

Marcel Desailly

Patrice Evra

10. Eric Cantona

Cantona was the signing that took Man United onto another level as his impact took United back to the top of English football.

He was also the player that got the ball rolling for foreign players coming into the Premier League as his impact in England inspired other clubs to bring in players from other countries and since then, several foreigners have come into the Premier League and lit it up.

He was a player who had pretty much everything in technical ability, creativity, agility and the ability to score any kind of goal.

A lot of United fans will probably be angry with me when they see him in 10th on my list because of how iconic a player he was for them.

The reason why I have him down in 10th is because he didn't win as much as the other players on the list did in the modern era and he also didn't do a lot with the national team.

9. Patrice Evra

Evra was one of the best full backs in Europe on his day because of his ability to be effective at both ends of the pitch.

Defensively he was strong as he barely let an opponent past him and going forward he always offered a threat.

His prime years undoubtedly came at Man United which was where he became one of the best in his position and played an integral in every success he achieved there.

He also played an integral part in the success he achieved at Juventus where he showed that he still had a lot to offer despite being in the latter years of his career.

8. Marcel Desailly

Desailly was one of the top central defenders in Europe for a long time as he was great in the air, strong, physical and a brilliant reader of the game.

He was a defender who got in the way of everything thrown his way whether that he blocking a shot or making a well-timed tackle.

He was an integral part of the France side that won both the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 where he was named in the team of the tournament at both.

He also won everything at club level including the Champions League with both Marseille and AC Milan, the latter of who he won a Serie A title with, and the FA Cup with Chelsea in 2000.

7. Antoine Griezmann

Griezmann has been one of the best attacking players in Europe over the last decade through his ability to both create and score goals.

He's been at his best when he's played alongside a big target man up top as it enabled him to run off his partner and in behind defences whether that be Diego Costa at Atletico Madrid or Olivier Giroud with France.

He's also been a player who has adapted his game the older he's got by doing more out of possession like dropping into midfield to receive the ball.

He did the latter to great effect during the World Cup in Qatar and him doing that played a key role in France reaching the final.

He's been an incredible servant to Atletico Madrid where he has felt more at home in that he's played in a team with a style that suits his game.

It didn't work out for him at Barcelona because he didn't suit the way they played in that he didn't play alongside a target man up top and was often used out of position on the left.

But with both Atletico and France, the way both teams play has suited his style of play in having a big man up top who he can bounce off.

6. Raphael Varane

Varane was a top class defender on his day as he was comfortable in possession, calm, a good reader of the game and good in the air as well.

But I do think he was underrated as he didn't get as much credit as the majority of his teammates at Real Madrid including his centre back partner Ramos, who was the captain, the leader and the bigger presence of the two at the back.

He was crucial to almost every success he achieved at Real Madrid where he won everything on offer including three La Liga titles, the Copa del Rey in 2014 and four Champions League's.

He was also an integral part of the France side that won the World Cup in 2018 with his partnership at the back with Samuel Umtiti playing a major role.

5. Patrick Vieira

Vieira was one of the toughest players to play against on his day because he was strong, tenacious and physical when challenging for the ball.

He was also a technically gifted player as he was skilful, agile and a brilliant carrier of the ball up the pitch as he could glide past players effortlessly.

He gave Arsenal a real solid backbone during his time at the club because of the toughness and leadership he brought to the team, which made them a tough team to play against.

He won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups with Arsenal alongside winning both the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 with France.

4. Kylian Mbappe

Mbappe will probably be higher up this list in a few years time because of what he's going to achieve in the game and the fact that he's arguably the best player in the world right now.

He's already achieved a lot in he game at the age of 26 including seven Ligue 1 titles with six of them coming at PSG, the 2018 World Cup with France when he was just 19 and multiple individual accolades including the European Golden Shoe last season.

Next on his bucket list will surely be the Champions League and the Ballon D'or and he could bag both next year if keeps up the fine form he's been in this season.

If he can win another World Cup with the national team alongside winning the Champions League with Real Madrid, he's got a great chance of bagging his first Ballon D'or.

3. Karim Benzema

Benzema was right up there among the best strikers in Europe when he was at Real Madrid because of the amount of goals he scored during his time there.

But he was somewhat underrated for a number of years as he spent most of his time at Real in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo who was obviously the main man.

He stepped out of that shadow the moment Ronaldo left by stepping up as the main man and it was in the 2021/22 season where he fully embraced the role as his goals that season were key to Real winning both La Liga and the Champions League that season before going to win the Ballon D'or.

He had everything you wanted from a striker when he was in his prime in link-up play, strength, agility, pace, movement and the ability to score all kinds of goals.

He won everything on offer at Real Madrid including four La Liga titles, three Copa Del Rey's and five Champions League's.

2. Thierry Henry

Henry was arguably the greatest striker of his generation as he could both create and score goals.

He scored all kinds of goals right throughout his career and was a striker who was quick, agile and a brilliant carrier of the ball.

He started out as a winger when he broke through at Monaco before he was moved to centre forward at Arsenal, where he later developed into one of the best strikers in Europe.

His goals were crucial to every success he achieved at Arsenal and especially during the Invincibles season where he netted 30 league goals as Arsenal went the entire season unbeaten.

He was also a key part of the Barcelona side that won the treble in 2009 where he netted 26 times in all competitions and was part of that clinical frontline alongside Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o.

He was France's record goal scorer for a number of years with 51 goals and was an integral part of the World Cup and Euros winning teams in 1998 and 2000 respectively.

1. Zinedine Zidane

There was only going to be one winner of this top 10 and it had to be Zidane because of how gifted and special a player he was.

He was easily the most gifted player of his generation because of all the attributes he had including exceptional ball control, athleticism and the ability to do almost anything with the ball at his feet because of how skilful and agile he was.

Very few players could and can do what he could on his day which sets him apart from the other top midfielders to have played the game.

He was an an integral part of every successful side he was involved with including Real Madrid's Champions League winning side in 2002 and the France teams that won the World Cup in 1998 and Euro 2000, the latter of which he was named player of the tournament.

MY TOP 10:

1. Zinedine Zidane

2. Thierry Henry

3. Karim Benzema

4. Kylian Mbappe

5. Patrick Vieira

6. Raphael Varane

7. Antoine Griezmann

8. Marcel Desailly

9. Patrice Evra

10. Eric Cantona