Ligue 1 and the Club World Cup: The Links

While Paris Saint-Germain may be the only club from Ligue 1 McDonald's competing in the Club World Cup over the next month, plenty of players in the tournament have connections to the French top flight -- learn more in our latest article.

Messi among the headliners

Two years on from leaving the French capital Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates have been drawn in Group A alongside FC Porto, Palmeiras and Egyptian side Al-Ahly. The latter will line up with the former Brest defender Achraf Dari, while the Brazilian side feature former Nantes midfielder Lucas Evangelista. In Group B, Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid lead the way with Cesar Azpilicueta (Olympique de Marseille), Thomas Lemar (AS Monaco, SM Caen), Clément Lenglet (Nancy) and Reinildo (LOSC Lille). Los Colchoneros will face PSG, along with Seattle Sounders and Botafogo, a side who feature former Lyon players Jeffinho and Marçal as well as Joaquin Correa, who spent a season on loan at Marseille.

Bayern, COMAN ready for action

In Group C, Bayern Munich features three former Ligue 1 players: Kingsley Coman (Paris Saint-Germain), Raphael Guerreiro (FC Lorient) and Sacha Boey (Stade Rennais) as well as Valenciennes academy product Dayot Upamecano. Their rivals include Benfica, for whom Ángel di Maria will take his bow alongside Florentino Luis (Monaco) and Renato Sanches (LOSC Lille, PSG) and Boca Juniors (Edinson Cavani and Ander Herrera). In Group D, Chelsea (Benoît Badiashile, Christopher Nkunku, Mamadou Sarr, Malo Gusto) boast a strong French connection. Their competition for the knockout places includes Youcef Belaili (Stade Brestois, Angers SCO) and Esperance Tunis, LAFC (Denis Bouanga, Olivier Giroud, Marlon, Sergi Palencia, and Hugo Lloris) as well as Brazilian side Flamengo (Gerson, Luiz Araujo)

"It's going to be a special game, but once on the pitch, I'll put it aside."

🎙️ Olivier Giroud pic.twitter.com/jGjR2770el
— LAFC (@LAFC) June 12, 2025

Inter look to bounce back

In Group E, Inter Milan (Benjamin Pavard, Marcus Thuram) will look to bounce back from their heavy loss to PSG in the Champions League final against the likes of Mexican side Monterrey (Sergio Ramos, Lucas Ocampos), River Plate and Urawa Red Diamonds. Group F sees Borussia Dortmund (Serhou Guirassy, Ramy Bensebaini square off with Korean side Ulsan HD, Fluminense (and the PSG legend Thiago Silva), as well as Lebo Mothiba's Mamelodi Sundowns.

In Group G, Juventus have several familiar faces (Tim Weah, Khéphren Thuram, Randal Kolo Muani, Arkadiusz Milik, Pierre Kalulu) and they'll take on Wydad AC and Al-Ain, as well as a Manchester City side with new arrivals Ryan Ait-Nouri and Rayan Cherki as well as Bernardo Silva, Abdukodir Khusanov and Jérémy Doku. Finally, in Group H, Kylian Mbappé's Real Madrid (a side that also includes Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouameni and Ferland Mendy) will meet Red Bull Salzburg, Pachuca and Al-Hilal