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Legends

English Players in Ligue 1: A History

With English players a growing contingent in Ligue 1 McDonald's, we look back at their history in the French top flight, from the earliest pioneers to the stars of today
E. DEVIN
Published on 06/22/2025 at 23:00
2-minute read
With English players a growing contingent in Ligue 1 McDonald's, we look back at their history in the French top flight

With English players a growing contingent in Ligue 1 McDonald's, we look back at their history in the French top flight, from the earliest pioneers to the stars of today.

Pioneers and a surge in the '80s

Footballers from across the channel first made their appearance in France in the 1930s, led by pioneers like Bill Berry, who made his name at Brentford before ending his playing career with SC Fives, a predecessor of LOSC Lille. After retiring, Berry spent a long spell in France, managing Les Dogues for more than a decade, as well as taking the helm at OGC Nice. While more than a dozen players had brief spells in France before the war, English players were a rarity for some fifty years, when a ban on English clubs playing in European competitions saw a raft of stars join France's top clubs.

Players like the AS Monaco duo of Mark Hateley and Glenn Hoddle, Chris Waddle (Marseille) and Clive Allen (Bordeaux) were regular internationals for the Three Lions and brought plenty of star power to the French top flight, and honors as well. Hateley and Hoddle helped Monaco to the title in 1987-88, while Waddle won three titles and helped l'OM reach the Champions League final in 1991.

David Beckham and the newest crop

While those players were certainly an accomplished crop, perhaps none of them had the sort of global recognition as David Beckham. Signed in January 2013 by Paris Saint-Germain, the legendary midfielder brought down the curtain on his career by playing ten games for the capital side, helping them win the first title of the QSI era. 

The intervening years have been somewhat lean -- Trevoh Chalobah played a season on loan with Lorient, and Ross Barkley featured for OGC Nice in 2022/23, but lately things have taken on a particularly English turn. Angel Gomes, who has joined Lille this summer, is no doubt the headline name, but there are also a handful of youth internationals plying their trade in France, with Charlie Cresswell (Toulouse FC), Jonathan Rowe and CJ Egan-Riley (both OM) all playing in the U-21 Euros this summer. Strasbourg's exciting young winger, Samuel Amo-Ameyaw, has also impressed since joining in the winter window -- to say nothing of the impressive play of manager Liam Rosenior. Indeed, the future is bright for Englishmen in Ligue 1 McDonald's! 

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