Griezmann, Benzema, Mbappé, Giroud: who are France's top UEFA Champions League performers?
Saturday 13 February 2021
Article summary
Which French players have made the most appearances and scored the most goals?
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Most appearances in the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League (including qualifying)
125: Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
115: Thierry Henry (Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona)
111: Patrice Evra (Monaco, Man. United, Juventus)
96: Claude Makelele (Nantes, Real Madrid, Chelsea)
89: Franck Ribéry (Bayern)
87: Mikaël Silvestre (Inter Milan, Manchester United, Arsenal, Bremen)
87: Gaël Clichy (Arsenal, Manchester City, Başakşehir)
83: Florent Malouda (Lyon, Chelsea)
82: Robert Pirès (Marseille, Arsenal, Villarreal)
82: Zinédine Zidane (Juventus, Real Madrid)
Top-scoring players in the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League (including qualifying)
69: Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
51: Thierry Henry (Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona)
32: David Trezeguet (Monaco, Juventus)
28: Jean-Pierre Papin (Marseille, AC Milan, Bayern)
26: Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad, Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona)
21: Kylian Mbappé (Monaco, Paris)
20: Nicolas Anelka (Arsenal, Real Madrid, Paris, Fenerbahçe, Chelsea, Juventus)
18: Franck Ribéry (Bayern)
18: Olivier Giroud (Montpellier, Arsenal, Chelsea)
17: Michel Platini (St-Étienne, Juventus)
Most appearances in UEFA club competition*
140: Thierry Henry (Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona)
134: Claude Makelele (Nantes, Celta Vigo, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Paris)
129: Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
124: Patrice Evra (Monaco, Man. United, Juventus, Marseille)
122: Zinédine Zidane (Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus, Real Madrid)
117: Robert Pirès (Metz, Marseille, Arsenal, Villarreal)
117: Franck Ribéry (Marseille, Bayern)
113: Lilian Thuram (Monaco, Parma, Juventus, Barcelona)
111: Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille, Dinamo Moskva, Lyon, Fenerbahçe, Olympiacos)
107: Gael Clichy (Arsenal, Manchester City, Başakşehir)
Top-scoring players in UEFA club competition*
70: Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
59: Thierry Henry (Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona)
40: Jean-Pierre Papin (Club Brugge, Marseille, AC Milan, Bayern, Bordeaux)
37: David Trezeguet (Monaco, Juventus)
34: Olivier Giroud (Montpellier, Arsenal, Chelsea)
33: Kevin Gameiro (Strasbourg, Paris, Sevilla, Atlético de Madrid, Valencia)
32: Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad, Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona)
30: Michel Platini (St-Étienne, Juventus)
28: Nicolas Anelka (Paris, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Fenerbahçe, Bolton, Chelsea, Juventus)
28: Guillaume Hoarau (Paris, Young Boys)
Key facts
Most successful European club: Marseille (1 European Cup win)
Most European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League games: Lyon (148)
Most European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League goals: Paris (243)
First team to compete in the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League: Stade de Reims (runners-up,1955/56)
First team to win the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League: Marseille (1992/93)
• With five goals in the inaugural edition, Franck Sauzée is the only Frenchman to have finished as top scorer in a UEFA Champions League campaign.
• In 2014, Real Madrid boss Zinédine Zidane became the first French-born coach to lift the trophy; he had previously won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid as a player in 2002. Helenio Herrera, a two-time winner with Inter Milan, also had French citizenship but was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• With the winner against his former club Paris Saint-Germain in Lisbon in 2020, Kingsley Coman became the ninth Frenchman to score in a UEFA Champions League final. France also can boast the first final scorer: Michel Leblond opened the scoring for Stade de Reims in the first European Cup final in 1956, though Real Madrid ran out 4-3 winners at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
• Bafétimbi Gomis's eight-minute treble for Lyon at Dinamo Zagreb in December 2011 remains the fastest hat-trick in UEFA Champions League history. He ultimately scored four in 7-1 win.
• The oldest hat-trick scorer in UEFA Champions League history is also a Frenchman: Olivier Giroud hit four at Sevilla for Chelsea in December 2020 aged 34 years 63 days.
*UEFA club competitions means European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, European/South American Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup