Statistics France, Ligue 1

The French elite division, Ligue 1, is one of the top leagues in Europe. Though Liga Portugal takes the 5th spot in the top European leagues ranking, Ligue 1 keeps the fans' interest with the most exciting young footballers playing in France, such as the superstar Kylian Mbappe and the Portuguese forward Goncalo Ramos.

Professional football in France didn't exist before 1930 when the National Council of the French Football Federation approved its adoption. Ligue 1's first season started in 1932 and ended with a title for Olympique Lillois - a club that doesn't exist at the moment.

Until 2011, Saint-Etienne and Marseille were the dominant forces throughout the whole period of Ligue 1. Saint-Etienne had the most titles with ten triumphs (in 2023, this number is the same). Marseille had one less (in 2023, this number is the same). Back then, at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, PSG had only two titles.

Unsurprisingly, the Parisian team has won 11 times the championship - more than anyone else. It is fair to say that Qatar's ownership of Paris Saint-Germain has changed the course of the league. 

The dominance of one club is not unusual for the league in the current century. Season 2001-2002 was the first that ended with a title for Olympique Lyon in a run of 7 consecutive league victories - the longest run in the division's history.

Ligue 1 has witnessed hundreds of great players, such as Grégory Coupet, Juninho, Thiago Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and  Lionel Messi. Though the 7-time Ballon d'Or winner had a period in the league, other world football stars set the records in France.

Former Monaco striker Delio Onnis is the all-time top goalscorer of Ligue 1, scoring 299 goals in the competition. With most appearances in the league is the goalkeeper Mickael Landreau, who played 618 times in the French elite division.

Ligue 1 Statistics:

A team with most titles - Paris Saint-Germain (11) 

A player with most goals - Dennis Onnis (299) 

A player with most matches -  Mickael Landreau (618)

Most expensive incoming transfer - Neymar (€222 million from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2018)

Most expensive outgoing transfer - Neymar (€90 million from Paris Saint-Germain  to 

Al-Hilal in 2023)