5 amazing players sold by Lyon in the last decade

Ligue one has been dominated by Paris Saint-Germain for the past half a decade. Barring Monaco’s miraculous title win in the 2016-17 season, Unai Emery’s men are on course to make it five titles in the last six seasons, sitting 17 points clear at the top.

The last time we witnessed such dominance from a single team in Ligue one was from Lyon who claimed seven successive titles from 2001-2008. Since that era, Les Gones (“the Kids”) have managed to win a mere Coupe de France trophy.

For years Lyon have excelled domestically by matching their ability to snap up upcoming French talent with the willingness to sell their best players once a good offer came in. But with the emergence of PSG, backed by their billionaire owners and the continued sales of their best players, Lyon have drifted away from the summit.

So, here are 5 of their former players who could have helped Lyon continue their dominance in the French first division.

#5 Hugo Lloris

An inspirational captain and an absolute stalwart between the sticks

Currently one of the best shot-stoppers in the English Premier league, Hugo Lloris joined Lyon from league rivals Nice in a €8.5 Million deal in 2008, just after the French side had won their record-breaking 7th title in a row.

As fate would have it, Lyon’s domestic decline began soon after the young goalkeeper arrived. He would go on to win just a single Coupe de France trophy in a 4-year spell before joining Spurs.

But there was no shortage of individual honours as he won the Ligue 1 goalkeeper of the year in 3 of his four seasons at the Groupama stadium.

Currently, captain of the French National team, Lloris made more than 200 appearances for the club before moving on to Premier league side Tottenham in 2012. Since then, Lloris has gone on to become one of the finest goalkeepers for both club and country.

#4 Samuel Umtiti

Samuel Umtiti: inching towards greatness

One of the best graduates to have come out of the Lyon academy, Samuel Umtiti, a Cameroon born French International currently plies his trade for Barcelona.

The young defender made his way through the youth sides all the way to the Lyon first team, where his stellar performances caught the eye of Spanish Giants Barcelona who paid Lyon a whopping €25 Million for the centre-back in the summer of 2016.

Umtiti racked up close to 200 games for the French side spread over 5 seasons before earning his big move. The defender's last season at the club was particularly impressive as he was voted the best player of the season by Lyon fans ahead of current Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette.

Now in his second season at the Camp Nou, Umtiti’s stock continues to rise; Lyon supporters have been left scratching their heads as to how they let go of the defender so cheap.

#3 Miralem Pjanic

Maestro!

The Governor-general of the current Juventus team, Miralem Pjanic has been a wonderful box-to-box midfield player since his days in France. The Bosnia and Herzegovina International got his big break with Metz in France before earning a €7.5 Million move to Lyon in 2008.

Perceived as a future replacement for Juninho, Pjanic got to share the dressing room with the Lyon legend for a solitary season. That experience certainly rubbed off on the youngster as he has gone on to become one of the best free kick takers in the world.

Lyon witnessed the best of Pjanic during the 2009-10 season where he took up Juninho's famous number 8 jersey, chipping in with 11 goals from midfield. This coincided with the club's best performance in the UEFA Champions League as they defeated Real Madrid on their way to the semi-finals.

Pjanic spent three full seasons at Lyon before moving on to Roma in an €11 Million deal in 2011 and it was in Rome that his game went on to a whole new level. This forced Juventus to pay €32 Million for the playmaker five years later, as he would go on to reach the Champions league final at the end of his first season.

#2 Alexandre Lacazette

Lacazette caught the attention of European giants due to his prolific stint at Lyon

Alexandre Lacazette was one of the deadliest strikers during his stint at Lyon. Having scored 37 goals in all competitions for the club in his final season, every Arsenal supporter was optimistic when Wenger decided to splurge a club record €53 Million on the striker.

But things haven't turned out to be the way it was supposed to be as Lacazette has underwhelmed so far scoring just 9 times in all competitions.

Lacazette who came through the ranks at Lyon, shot to prominence during the 2013-14 season as he fired in 22 goals in all competitions. The striker scored an impressive 91 goals in the league between 2013 and 2017, winning the golden boot during the 2014-15 season.

Arsenal's shambolic league form has undoubtedly rubbed off on the Frenchman as he looks devoid of confidence, with Europa league offering the last chance for redemption for both player and club this season. A good end to the season may yet see Lacazette sneak into the French squad for the World cup.

#1 Karim Benzema

An underrated striker for the Los Blancos

Karim Benzema is the only player on this list to have won the league title with Lyon. Benzema is definitely the most successful academy graduate from Lyon’s production unit (at least in terms of the number of trophies won) having managed to be a part of 4 consecutive title wins from 2004-2008.

The 3-time French player of the year had his breakthrough during the 2007-08 season as he won both the golden boot and the Ligue 1 player of the year award on the way to Lyon's 6th successive title. Benzema finished that season with 31 goals in all competitions prompting Real Madrid to splash out €35 Million in the summer of 2009.

Now in his ninth season at the Bernabeu, Benzema has scored almost 200 goals for Los Blancos, a mightily impressive tally that has been overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo’s superhuman abilities. Benzema is a part of the aforementioned BBC trio (Benzema, Bale and Cristiano) and the most underrated of the three.

13 years on from his Lyon debut, Benzema, currently in his prime looks set to miss the 2018 World Cup.