10 Greatest French Midfielders in Football History [Ranked]

Since winning the 1998 World Cup on home soil against Brazil, France have regularly performed to a high standard on the world stage, with a host of exceptional midfielders driving them to success over the years. With such a wealth of talent from years gone by, there are some notable omissions from these rankings.

Marcel Desailly excelled as a defensive midfielder for AC Milan, but due to his position with the national team being at centre-back, he is not ranked here. Franck Ribery is another who misses out. Although a fine player and able to play in midfield, he was more of a winger. The same goes for Robert Pires, who is considered one of Arsenal’s greatest-ever players, but his real position was also on the wing, so again, he is not included.

Of course, it is impossible to have a conversation about the best French midfielders of all time without immediately mentioning Zinedine Zidane and Michel Platini, and naturally, they feature at the top of rankings. It comes as no surprise that it is players from the last 40 years that dominate the rankings. They are players who have thrilled us, as well as players who have been depended on to be the glue to hold tournament-winning teams together. Although there are a great many to choose from, GIVEMESPORT has ranked the top 10 best French midfielders of all time.

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Ranking factors

• Success and influence with the national team
• Domestic career and honours
• Legacy created in the game

10 Alain Giresse

Career span: 1970 – 1988

Alongside Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse was part of an incredibly successful Bordeaux side in the 1980s. Voted French Player of the Year in 1982, 1983 and 1987, Giresse was only five feet and four inches tall, but he was a gifted and intelligent player who was a key part of the French team that won Euro ’84. Playing in an era when players were more likely to remain playing in their own countries, any doubters over Giresse’s ability need only see the voting for the 1982 Ballon d’Or, in which he placed higher than Michel Platini, but second to the winner Paolo Rossi.

9 Claude Makelele

Career span: 1990 – 2011

Defensive midfielder Claude Makelele was a massive influence on the Chelsea side that won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2005 and 2006. He’d already proved his worth by being the midfield linchpin of the Real Madrid side that won the 2002 Champions League. One of his biggest fans was none other than Zinidine Zidane, who, on hearing Madrid were selling his colleague to Chelsea, was reported to have said: ‘Why put another layer of gold on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?” Makelele had an incredible knack for dispossessing opponents in order to start attacks, a very much needed player in any great midfield.

8 Emmanuel Petit

Career span: 1988 – 2004

Emmanuel Petit played in a defensive midfield position and was a key component of the national team’s World Cup and Euro wins in 1998 and 2000 over Brazil and Italy respectively. The 1998 World Cup Final represented a high point in his career, scoring France’s third goal in the final minute of the game. Petit was also a key player for Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, being part of the Gunners’ double-winning side of 1998. Before joining Arsenal, Petit played for Monaco for nine years, making 292 appearances and winning the Ligue 1 title in 1997, as well as the Coupe de France six years earlier.

7 Jean Tigana

Career span: 1975 – 1991

Jean Tigana excelled in midfield for France in the 1980s and was a great foil for Michel Platini. Energetic and creative in the middle, Tigana was a big part of the French side that narrowly missed out on a place in the World Cup final in 1982 and 1986. He was, however, not to be denied a tournament win with his country, with notable performances in France’s victorious Euro ’84 campaign, in which they beat Spain 2-0 in the final in Paris. Part of the great Bordeaux team that won three Ligue 1 titles in four years, Tigana is certainly one of France’s greatest midfielders.

6 N’Golo Kante

Career span: 2012 – present

N’Golo Kante has had an exceptional career. He gained widespread attention for being a vital component in the Leicester City team that shocked the football world by winning the Premier League in 2016. Throughout his career, he has always had a knack for being in exactly the right place at the right time to win the ball back for his team. He won the Premier League the following year with his new club Chelsea, for whom he was inspirational for in their 2021 Champions League victory over Manchester City. Kante is also credited for keeping Lionel Messi quiet in France’s run towards victory in the 2018 World Cup Final in Russia.

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5 Paul Pogba

Career span: 2011 – present

Although some may accuse Paul Pogba of not making the most of his natural talent, he has achieved plenty of success throughout his career, winning trophies with Juventus, Manchester United and France. Pogba was a key cog in the France machine that won the World Cup in 2018, scoring a brilliant goal in the final against Croatia. Few players can rival Pogba’s range of passing, which has been known to create goals from the most unlikely parts of the pitch. There’s no denying the influence he’s had on the national team and he can consider himself one of France’s best.

4 Patrick Vieira

Career span: 1993 – 2011

A powerhouse athlete and a great competitor, Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira was not short on skill or poise, either. Skipper of the legendary Gunners team that went unbeaten on their way to the Premier League title in 2004, by this time Vieira was already a world and European champion with France. Although there were moments when his fiery nature on the field resulted in a red card – he was sent off eight times in the Premier League – Vieira, who also played for Cannes, AC Milan, Juventus, Inter Milan and Manchester City during his brilliant career, remains an all-time French midfield great.

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3 Didier Deschamps

Career span: 1985 – 2001

Perhaps not as talented as other players within these rankings, no one can doubt Didier Deschamps’ leadership qualities. Once famously described by Eric Cantona as simply a water carrier, an implication that Deschamps’ primary role was to simply give the ball to more talented players, the Frenchman was on hand as captain for France’s greatest moments, lifting the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. Playing as a defensive midfielder, Deschamps had an equally distinguished club career. The current France national team manager won the Champions League with both Marseille and Juventus in the 1990s.

2 Michel Platini

Career span: 1972 – 1987

With his shirt un-tucked over his shorts and his unruly hair, Michel Platini looked very much like an artist and he was one too. A wonderful reader of the game and a fantastic ball player, he was the talent behind France’s run to consecutive World Cup semi-finals in 1982 and 1986. He was also mesmeric during Euro ’84, in which France won, largely due to Platini’s performances. Not only a master creator, this was a tournament in which he scored nine goals. The winner of three consecutive Ballon d’Or titles from 1983 to 1985, he also excelled at club level, particularly at Juventus, who he won the European Cup with in 1985. Platini called time on his career in 1987 aged 32, having already done enough to cement his name well and truly in the history of the world game.

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1 Zinedine Zidane

Career span 1989 – 2006

Who else could it be? This is the man who scored two goals in the 1998 World Cup final and whose performances in the subsequent Euros in 2000 helped France win that competition too. Six years later, Zidane put on another masterclass throughout the 2006 World Cup, dragging his team to another final, in which he was sent off after headbutting Marco Materazzi.

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His controlled volley for Real Madrid in the 2002 Champions League final, a game in which he was named man of the match, lives long in the memory. Blessed with an incredible ability to slalom past opponents when driving forward, at times Zidane appeared to have limbs made of rubber, such was the way he could shift the ball and his body in such tight spaces. He was able to do this against the world’s best over and over again, and that is why he is considered an all-time great of the game.

Stats via Transfermarkt (as of 17/06/24).