All-time Ligue 1 top goal scorers

Zlatan moved to PSG in 2012 and has scored almost 100 goals, but it is unlikely he will reach the top 10

Since its inception in 1932, the Ligue 1 has largely been dominated by Marseille and Saint-Étienne (10 league titles each), with their major competition coming from Paris Saint-Germain, Nantes, Monaco & Lyon.

The premier division of France boasts of some extremely gifted individuals and also pack some of the best strikers in the world. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexandre Lacazette and Edinson Cavani are some of the current top strikers in the country who are renowned in Europe for their scoring prowess while there are also plenty of top quality home-grown striker plying their trade at other sides in the league.

Underneath, we take a look at the players featuring in the all-time Ligue 1 top scorers list, as well the top scorers among the players who are still active in the game.

Current Players who have one eye on list of top Goal scorers

Realistically speaking, no player currently plying their trade in Ligue 1 can ever hope to surpass the record held by Delio Onnis. In fact, none of them stand a chance to feature in the list of top ten goal scorers as well.

Of the players currently playing in Ligue 1, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (81 strikes in 97 games*) has the best chance of getting his name into the list of top 100 goal scorers in the Ligue and he is trailed by the 35-year-old Gazélec Ajaccio striker Grégory Pujol (76 goals in 333 appearances).

Many players could still make their mark in the List of all-time French Ligue 1 goal scorers, but the possibility seems highly unlikely.

Globalization of the sport has driven the best players to richer and more alluring leagues in England, Germany and Spain with the very best of French talent being lured to foreign shores, case in point Karim Benzema’s transfer to Real Madrid and Paul Pogba opting to develop with Manchester United before establishing himself as a lynchpin for Juventus.

	Player	Period	Club	Goals
1	André-Pierre Gignac	2006-2014	Marseille, Toulouse, Lorient	103
2	Bafétimbi Gomis	2005-2013	Saint-Étienne, Lyon	102
3	Mamadou Niang	2000-2009	Marseille, Strasbourg, Troyes	100
4	Djibril Cissé	2000-2013	Auxerre, Marseille, Bastia	96
5	Zlatan Ibrahimovic	2012-	Paris Saint-Germain	81*
6	Ludovic Giuly	1995-2012	Monaco, Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain	80

All Time French Ligue 1 goal scorers

5. Roger Piantoni

Roger Piantoni played in the Ligue 1 throughout his career and amassed 203 goals in 394 appearances in his spells with FC Nancy and Stade de Reims. Regarded as one of the best players to grace the El Tri jersey, Piantoni was nicknamed Bout d'chou, as his goal scoring exploits had the French crowd in awe of his abilities.

Piantoni featured in the European Champions Cup finals of 1959 and won the Ligue 1 in 1958, 1960 and 1962 with Reims. He was the top goal scorer of Ligue 1 in 1951 with Nancy and in 1961 with Reims.

4. Thadée Cisowski

Son of Polish immigrants, Tadeusz Cisowski was one of the most feared goal scorers in Championnat de France. He scored 206 times in 286 appearances in his spells with FC Metz, Racing Club de France, and Valenciennes FC.

He finished top scorer of the Ligue 1 on three occasions - 1956, 1957 and 1959 with Racing Club de France but failed to guide The Penguins to any silverware.

Ciso, as he was fondly called by fans and teammates alike, had his international career cut short by injuries, but boasts an impressive tally of 11 goals in only 13 appearances for Les Blues. His career defining moment came in a World Cup qualifying match against Belgium in 1956 in which he scored a quintuple of goals, thus equalling the French national team record set by Eugène Maës in 1913.

3. Hervé Revelli

216 goals in 289 appearances means that Herve Revelli is third on the list

The striker from Verdun, famed for his killer instincts in front of goal, managed to find the back of the net 216 times in 389 Championnat de France appearances as he donned the jersey of AS Saint-Étienne & OGC Nice in his decade-long stay in the top division.

He was top scorer of the Championship of France in 1967 and 1970 and won the coveted title a record seven times – 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1975 and 1976.

Hervé Revelli was capped 30 times by the Les Blues and was elected French Player of the Year by France Football in 1969. He holds the distinction of being Saint-Etienne’s top scorer in Championnat de France with 175 league goals.

2. Bernard Lacombe

Bernard Lacombe started his professional career with Olympique Lyonnais in 1969 and achieved great success in Ligue 1 with FC Girondins de Bordeaux. He donned the jerseys of Saint-Etienne as well during his two decades in the Ligue 1, where he found the back of the net a whopping 255 times in 497 appearances.

Lacombe was never the top scorer in Ligue 1 but won the league title thrice with Bordeaux in 1984, 1985 and 1987. He has 12 goals in 38 outings for the French National team and boasts the 1984 European Championship winners’ medal in his collection.

The Frenchman joined the technical staff of Olympique Lyonnais after hanging up his boots, serving as technical manager from 1988 to 1996 and then as manager from 1996 to 2000. His inputs were vital as Les Gones went on to win seven Ligue 1 titles on the trot from 2001-2008.

He now serves as "special adviser" to Lyon President Jean-Michel Aulas and is credited with the signings of several brilliant Brazilian players to the team, like Juninho Pernambucano and Fred.

1. Delio Onnis

Onnis is Monaco’s all-time top scorer with 223 goals in 280 games

Solo efforts, tap-ins, flukes and penalties characterised the Argentine’s game as he was always at the right place at the right time. Onnis was a complete striker who did due diligence to the ‘fox in the box’ label the fans heaped upon him as his predatory instincts and a killer eye for the goal made him AS Monaco’s greatest ever striker with 223 goals in 280 games.

Delio Onnis netted 299 goals from 1972 to 1986 in 449 appearances for Stade de Reims, AS Monaco FC, Tours FC and Sporting Toulon Var thus making him the all-time top scorer in the French championship. Nicknamed el Tano or the Italian, the Argentine national won the Ligue 1 with AS Monaco in 1978 and also holds the record of being the top scorer in the league on five separate occasions - 1975, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984.

Onnis was capped 14 times by the Argentine national side and he repaid the fans faith in him with 21 goals in the famous blue and white jersey.

	Player	Period	Clubs	Goals
1	Delio Onnis	1971-1986	AS Monaco	299
2	Bernard Lacombe	1969-1987	Lyon, Bordeaux	255
3	Hervé Revelli	1965–1978	Saint-Étienne	216
4	Thadée Cisowski	1947–1961	Paris Saint-Germain	206
5	Roger Piantoni	1950–1966	Stade Reims	203
6	Roger Courtois	1932–1956	Sochaux	193
7	Joseph Ujlaki	1947–1964	Paris Saint-Germain	189
8	Fleury Di Nallo	1960–1975	Lyon	187
9	Carlos Bianchi	1973–1980	Stade Reims	179
10	Gunnar Andersson	1950–1960	Marseille	179

*Stats updated as on October 18, 2015