These are the greatest attackers in France!
Over the years, France has produced a large number of excellent strikers, wingers, and other attackers. These players, who have excelled both domestically and internationally as well as for the French national team, are the greatest of the best.
The greatest player in Premier League history, Thierry Henry who won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship, cemented his legendary status at Arsenal with season after season of brilliance under Arsene Wenger. He was a key member of two championship teams, including the 2003–04 "Invincibles," and he won an amazing four Golden Boots between 2002 and 2006.
Kylian Mbappe, who is 25 years old as of this writing, is already well on his way to becoming one of the best players of all time. He is truly a superstar. The lightning-fast PSG forward, who became the first player to hit a hat-trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst in 1966, came agonisingly close to helping France retain their title four years later. At just 19 years old, he had already won the World Cup and was one of the tournament's most outstanding players.
The Premier League's first foreign superstar, Eric Cantona, is perhaps the best acquisition in Manchester United's history. He scored some of the most memorable goals in the league's history and produced its most famous kung-fu kick. A former United player who won PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year, finished third in the 1993 Ballon d'Or voting. He also played a brief stint as France's captain, scoring 20 goals in 45 appearances (a total that would have been much higher if not for a spat with Gerard Houllier and his exclusion by AimeJacquet).
Raymond Kopa, who moved from being a coal miner in his 40s to a football hero in the 50s and 60s, is unquestionably one of the best French players of all time, regardless of position! A very skilled forward with a fondness for dribbling and an excellent eye for goal, Kopa won the 1958 Ballon d'Or while leading Real Madrid to their second of three straight European Cup victories. The Kopa Trophy was instituted by France Football in 2017 in his memory as a way to recognise the finest young player on the globe.
During a dazzling 12-year tenure at Bayern Munich, Franck Ribery—once dubbed the “jewel of French football” by none other than Zinedine Zidane—firmly established himself as one of the best wingers in history. A genuinely lethal dribbler with 124 Bundesliga assists, Ribery was a European champion and triple domestic champion with the German giants. He also played a key role in his country's journey to the 2006 World Cup final.
Karim Benzema won the 2022 Ballon d'Or after a stellar year for Real Madrid, making history as the first French winner of the trophy since Zinedine Zidane in 1998. Over his illustrious 14-year tenure at the Bernabeu, Benzema—who scored 37 goals in 97 international appearances—became the second-highest goal scorer in history for the Spanish powerhouse, Real Madrid, with 354 goals.
Other great attackers in France include Antoine Griezmann, Just Fontaine, Robert Pires, Jean-Pierre Papin, and David Trezeguet.
