Kylian Mbappé, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembélé, Karim Benzema: Who are France's top UEFA Champions League performers?

France are a major force in international football, but the nations' clubs have won the continent's top club competition just twice; Marseille were the inaugural UEFA Champions League winners in 1992/93 and Paris took the trophy for the first time in 2024/25. French players have always been in demand, Raymond Kopa notably appearing on the losing side with Reims in the first European Cup final in 1955/56 before transferring to Real Madrid and winning the next three editions.

Last updated: 20 December 2025

Most appearances by French players in the UEFA Champions League (group stage/league phase to final)

152: Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
112: Thierry Henry (Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona)
111: Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad, Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona)
108: Patrice Evra (Monaco, Manchester United, Juventus)
96: Claude Makelele (Nantes, Real Madrid, Chelsea)
92: Kylian Mbappé (Monaco, Paris, Real Madrid)
92: Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid, Manchester United)
87: Franck Ribéry (Bayern München)
83: Florent Malouda (Lyon, Chelsea)
82: Robert Pirès (Marseille, Arsenal, Villarreal)
82: Mikaël Silvestre (Inter, Manchester United, Arsenal, Bremen)

Top-scoring French players in the UEFA Champions League (group stage/league phase to final)

90: Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
64: Kylian Mbappé (Monaco, Paris, Real Madrid)
50: Thierry Henry (Monaco, Arsenal, Barcelona)
43: Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad, Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona)
29: David Trezeguet (Monaco, Juventus)
24: Olivier Giroud (Arsenal, Chelsea, AC Milan)
21: Ousmane Dembélé (Dortmund, Barcelona, Paris)
20: Nicolas Anelka (Arsenal, Real Madrid, Paris, Fenerbahçe, Chelsea, Juventus)
18: Franck Ribéry (Bayern München)
17: Kingsley Coman (Juventus, Bayern)

Most appearances by French players in UEFA club competition*

157: Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
140: Thierry Henry (Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona)
134: Claude Makelele (Nantes, Celta, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Paris)
132: Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille, Dinamo Moskva, Lyon, Fenerbahçe, Olympiacos)
124: Patrice Evra (Monaco, Man United, Juventus, Marseille)
122: Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad, Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona)
122: Zinédine Zidane (Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus, Real Madrid)
117: Franck Ribéry (Marseille, Bayern München)
117: Robert Pirès (Metz, Marseille, Arsenal, Villarreal)
115: Steve Mandanda (Marseille, Rennes)

Top-scoring French players in UEFA club competition*

92: Karim Benzema (Lyon, Real Madrid)
65: Kylian Mbappé (Monaco, Paris, Real Madrid)
59: Thierry Henry (Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barcelona)
50: Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad, Atlético de Madrid, Barcelona)
43: Olivier Giroud (Montpellier, Arsenal, Chelsea, AC Milan, Lille)
40: Jean-Pierre Papin (Club Brugge, Marseille, AC Milan, Bayern München, Bordeaux)
37: David Trezeguet (Monaco, Juventus)
33: Kevin Gameiro (Strasbourg, Paris, Sevilla, Atlético de Madrid, Valencia)
32: Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon, Arsenal)
30: Michel Platini (St-Étienne, Juventus)

Key facts

Most successful European club: Marseille, Paris (1 European Cup win)
First team to compete in the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League: Stade de Reims (runners-up, 1955/56)
First team to win the European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League: Marseille (1992/93)

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*UEFA club competitions means European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, European/South American Cup, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Intertoto Cup