Top 5 players to have come out of Lyon ranks in recent times

Modified Dec 09, 2019 09:25 GMT

Karim Benzema

#3 Hugo Lloris

Hugo Lloris playing for Lyon

The Frenchman was just ten when he was spotted by former Nice goalkeeper Dominique Baratelli. Upon his advice, Lloris joined the youth academy at Nice and developed by leaps and bounds over the years, establishing himself as the goalkeeper for the under-17 team. As a reward for his consistent performances, he was promoted to the reserves team in the 2004/05 season. The following season, he gained entry to the first team and continued to impress, displaying shot-stopping skills beyond his age. He gained a permanent place in the first team in the 2006/07 season and spent two fruitful seasons with Les Aiglons before he moved on to Lyon ahead of the 2008/09 season.

With Les Gones, Lloris reached splendid heights and developed into one of the brightest footballing talents in the world. He reached the peak of his powers in the 2011/12 season, helping Lyon win the Coupe de France and the Trophee des Champions. In his three years at Lyon, the Frenchman was crowned the French league's Goalkeeper of the Year three times and also featured in the Ligue 1 team of the year thrice. Following his blockbuster season, he was picked up by Tottenham in the summer of 2012.

Since then, the Frenchman has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, even captaining the French national team to World Cup glory in 2018.

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Edited by Anurag Sharma