Champions League qualifying: How have French clubs fared?

French clubs have been involved in UEFA Champions League qualifying since the 1997/98 season, when Paris Saint-Germain produced a spectacular comeback against Steaua Bucharest at the Parc des Princes, winning the second leg 5-0.

Under the various formats of Europe’s premier club competition, French sides have taken part in qualifying on 25 occasions. This summer, OGC Nice will try their luck once again, beginning with a third qualifying round tie against Benfica before a potential play-off round for a place in the league phase.

Nice looking to improve on 2017

Third in Ligue 1 in 2017/18, OGC Nice fell short of reaching the Champions League group stage after being eliminated by Napoli in the play-offs, losing 4-0 on aggregate after two 2-0 defeats. Les Aiglons had previously knocked out Ajax in the third qualifying round.

Between the 1997/98 and 2012/13 seasons, Ligue 1 clubs only had one qualifying round to negotiate in order to reach the Champions League group stage. Since then, French representatives have generally had to come through two rounds, significantly affecting their success rate.

During the period when just one round had to be negotiated, FC Metz in 1998/99 and Olympique Lyonnais in 1999/2000 were among the sides to fall at the first hurdle. Overall, though, the record was highly positive, with 12 clubs reaching the group stage across 16 seasons — a qualification rate of 75%.

Since French clubs have been required to negotiate two rounds, however, that success rate has fallen to just 22%.

LOSC Lille managed to come through qualifying last summer before going on to impress in the competition and reach the Round of 16. Before them, only AS Monaco had successfully negotiated the process since 2016/17.

That season, Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco side went on an exceptional run all the way to the Champions League semi-finals.

The only other French club to have gone as far after first coming through qualifying was Olympique Lyonnais in 2009/10. Les Gones notably eliminated Real Madrid before eventually losing to Bayern Munich in the semi-finals.

Stat:
Les Aiglons have not appeared in the final stages of the European Cup or Champions League since reaching the quarter-finals against Real Madrid in 1960.

Champions League: French clubs’ qualifying records

LOSC Lille: 4 qualifications from 5 attempts
AS Monaco: 2 from 6
Olympique de Marseille: 2 from 3
Olympique Lyonnais: 3 from 5
AJ Auxerre: 2 from 2
Paris Saint-Germain: 1 from 1
OGC Nice, FC Metz and Toulouse FC: 0 from 1

French clubs in Champions League qualifying

2024/25: LOSC Lille — qualified for the league phase
2023/24: Olympique de Marseille — eliminated in the third qualifying round
2022/23: AS Monaco — eliminated in the third qualifying round
2021/22: AS Monaco — eliminated in the play-offs
2020/21: —
2019/20: —
2018/19: —
2017/18: OGC Nice — eliminated in the play-offs
2016/17: AS Monaco — qualified for the group stage
2015/16: AS Monaco — eliminated in the play-offs
2014/15: LOSC Lille — eliminated in the play-offs
2013/14: Olympique Lyonnais — eliminated in the play-offs

Two rounds to negotiate

2012/13: LOSC Lille — qualified for the group stage
2011/12: Olympique Lyonnais — qualified for the group stage
2010/11: AJ Auxerre — qualified for the group stage
2009/10: Olympique Lyonnais — qualified for the group stage
2008/09: Olympique de Marseille — qualified for the group stage
2007/08: Toulouse FC — eliminated in the third qualifying round
2006/07: LOSC Lille — qualified for the group stage
2005/06: AS Monaco — eliminated in the third qualifying round
2004/05: AS Monaco — qualified for the group stage
2003/04: Olympique de Marseille — qualified for the group stage
2002/03: AJ Auxerre — qualified for the group stage
2001/02: LOSC Lille — qualified for the group stage
2000/01: Olympique Lyonnais — qualified for the group stage
1999/00: Olympique Lyonnais — eliminated in the third qualifying round
1998/99: FC Metz — eliminated in the second qualifying round
1997/98: Paris Saint-Germain — qualified for the group stage