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

Modified Dec 09, 2019 09:25 GMT

Karim Benzema

#2 Miralem Pjanic

Miralem Pjanic (R) during his time with Lyon

The Bosnian footballer is, without a doubt, one of the best midfielders of his generation. Pjanic joined Ligue 1 side Metz as a 14-year-old and showed enough promise to attract the attention of quite a few big clubs in Europe. He was particularly impressive in the 2007/08 season and chose to move to Lyon in the summer of 2008.

At Lyon, Pjanic soon established himself as a worthy successor to the legendary Juninho, even wearing the No. 8 shirt in the 2009/10 season. The Bosnian displayed tremendous technical nous, which more than made up for his lack of speed and physical strength. He was an extremely accurate passer of the ball and had the vision of a genius. His playmaking skills and the ability to score in vital games soon made him a household name in France. More then that, it was his understanding of the game that made him an asset to any team.

The Bosnian moved to A. S. Roma on Deadline Day in the summer of 2011. After five successful seasons with the Giallorossi, he joined Juventus ahead of the 2016/17 season and has since established himself as an indispensable member of the first team.

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Edited by Anurag Sharma