Lyon and Brazil: A proud tradition
With Olympique Lyonnais having announced the loan signing of Endrick from Real Madrid, Ligue 1 McDonald's looks back at some of the top Brazilians to have featured for Les Gones.
The pioneers
While he wasn't the first player from Brazil to sign with Lyon, there's no question that Sonny Anderson paved the way for those to come while also having no small amount of success himself. No stranger to French football, he had already had prior spells at Marseille and Monaco before joining Lyon from Barcelona in 1999. A talented player who had struggled for playing time with the Blaugrana, he netted an incredible 71 goals in 110 appearances over four seasons, finishing top scorer in his first two seasons and winning the league in each of his last two.
🔴🔵 A 🚀 from Lyon hero Sonny Anderson!#UCL | @OL_English pic.twitter.com/m5vyeAaj5O
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 8, 2020
While he was the only Brazilian on the team when he arrived, he was soon joined by Claudio Caçapa and Edmilson in 2000, followed the next summer by the legendary Juninho Pernambucano and then Cris in 2004. While Edmilson would spend just four seasons at Lyon, winning three league titles (and the 2002 World Cup), Cris and Juninho in particular would define the club's greatest era, making nearly 700 combined appearances in all competitions, with the latter being present for all seven of Lyon's titles.
Happy birthday, Bruno Guimarães! 🇧🇷🎊 pic.twitter.com/SFGkxTDYas
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) November 16, 2025
The next generation
With the emergence of Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon's stranglehold on Ligue 1 weakened, but they still remained a top team in France, with players like Fred and Michel Bastos in particular being integral to success both domestically and in Europe. As impressive as those two had been, Lyon's love affair with Brazil really took flight in 2020, when the club signed a pair of promising young midfielders, Lucas Paquetá and Bruno Guimarães.
Together, the pair imbued the club's play with flair and grit and helped Lyon run PSG close for the title in 2020/2021, but Guimarães was instrumental in helping Les Gones reach the semifinal of the Champions League in his first half season, alongside versatile players like Rafael and Marçal. More recently, Lucas Perri parlayed his strong play in goal to a move to England, while Abner has been a reliable campaigner at both left back in midfield. Now Endrick will have his own chance to help write history with Lyon as the club battle for a Champions League spot and the Europa League over the next few months.
