The French Ligue 1 winners – List of french league Champions, All-time most successful teams in the history of the competition in France.
The French Ligue 1 has produced several notable Champions in the past although only a single team holds the title of the most in the history of the competition since its inception.
The French Ligue 1 is the house highest men’s professional football league in France contested by 20 teams across the french federation and the principality of Monaco.
The French Ligue has continued to gap the rest of the top four leagues in the world as one of the best having the likes of giants Paris Saint-German, Olympique Lyon, Olympique Marseille and AS Monaco.
Amongst the aforementioned clubs, Olympique Marseille is mike’s away from them and is currently the most successful club in the French league with over 10 titles.
However, despite Marseille’s dominating form, a new resurgent Paris Saint-German is a win away from equalling Marseille’s record with nine titles.
Standard Athletic Club won the inaugural edition of the league then referred to as the Amateur league.
As the transition to the professional era was completed, Olympique Lillois became the first winners of the league but became defunct after the merger to form present-day Lille OSC.
Highlighting the French Ligue 1 winners, the list of french league Champions and the most successful clubs in the country’s top division.
Ligue 1 winners, the most successful teams in history
Marseille
Marseille is the joint-most successful club in the French Ligue 1 alongside Saint-Étienne with 10 titles won since the inception of the league.
Marseille’s dominating performance sent wave signals across France and Europe.
Although Saint-Étienne became the pioneer club the that, it took a title-winning streak for Marseille to equal Saint-Étienne’s title record be it in the amateur or professional era.
Today Marseille prides itself as one of the clubs in France who have spent most of its time in the top flight.
Most of the club’s titles came in the Ligue 1 era, where it won nine titles with the other title coming before the professional era in France.
It might also interest you to know Olympique Marseille have ended up as runners up of the league over 13 times compared to the 10 league titles it has won as a club.
Golden Era
Marseille won its first title 1928–29 outside the professional football and had to wait over eight years before lifting the league again but now in the professional era in 1936–37.
Following up with these recent successful outings, the club continued to stand out as one of the best in the country’s top division winning the title back to back 1970–71 and 1971–72.
This achievement earned some respect for the club.
As if five titles won in the recent seasons were not enough, Marseille continued with its impressive run, this time, winning the title in four consecutive seasons.
This was achieved from 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92 and the last time the title was lifted was in the 2009–10 season. Since then, Marseille has ended up as runners up in five seasons after the 2009–10 triumph.
Notable titles the club have won in its history includes 1 Ligue 2, 10 Coupe de France, 3 Coupe de la Ligue, and 3 Trophée des Champions titles.
In France, Olympique Marseille holds a famous rivalry known as the Le Classique played against Paris Saint-German who’s been one of the best team in recent years, winning the title in successive seasons.
In modern times, the club have struggled to meet up with the high standards set by some of the top emerging teams including AS Monaco, Paris Saint German.
But during the 2019/2020 Ligue 1 in France, Olympique Marseille came close to winning the title, but was deprived from doing so after the Ligue 1 body opted to cancel the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Saint-Étienne
Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne is a professional football club based in Saint-Étienne and competes in the French Ligue 1.
The club is a joint most successful club in the French top tier league alongside Olympique Marseille with 10 titles although Saint-Étienne were the first to achieve the milestone before Marseille’s quick rise to prominence.
A record 10 titles follow the club as a mark of dominance in the early years of the league.
ASSE’s record was remarkable, winning the 10 titles within the space of twenty-five years and became the big brother football club in France between the 1960s and the 1970s.
This also includes becoming Champions in four consecutive seasons.
ASSE won its first league crown in 1956–57 and had to wait for another seven seasons for another title.
This achievement was closely followed by an impressive run, winning the league crown in four consecutive seasons between 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69 and 1969–70.
But the club went on a four-year hiatus.
This time, coming back stronger four years after the league triumph in 1970, Saint-Étienne won the crown for another three consecutive seasons between 1973–74, 1974–75, and 1975–76.
The last time the club became Champions was in 1980–81 season. Since this triumph, the club has struggled with the newest emerging sides in the country’s top-flight football league.
Other notable top titles won by the club includes three Ligue 2 titles, six Coupe de France, one Coupe de la Ligue and five Trophée des Champions.
In modern french football, the club has just a single trophy which came during 2012–13 known as Coupe de la Ligue which was abolished in 2020.
Currently, Saint-Germain have been struggling to meet up with the high standard of the league, getting to the point of almost getting relegated to the second División last season.
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-German is a professional football club based in the country’s capital city of Paris.
The club shot itself to prominence in the 21st century winning the last seven league titles in the past eight seasons.
The dominance of Paris Saint-German has caused football followers to judge the league as a one-man show where the french capital club has the luxury of lifting every trophy available in the country.
Domestically, Paris Saint-German has won over nine titles and ate one win away from equalling the joint record held by Saint-Étienne and Olympique Marseille with ten titles each.
The club is regarded as the country’s most successful club with over 44 trophies in various domestic competitions including the Ligue 2 once, Coupe de France 13, Coupe de la Ligue 9, Trophée des Champions 10.
PSG have won the last three titles only cut short by Monaco which could have made PSG Champions in seven consecutive seasons.
Today, the club prides itself as the best football club in France having some of the highly rated players in the world including Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Di Maria, Mauro Icardi, Marquinhos, etc.
The eye of France, Paris Saint German have continued to perform at the highest level including getting to the final of the UEFA Champions League during the 2019/2020 season.
For the Capital City club, the aim at the moment is to surpass the record held by Marseille and Saint-Germain as the most successful Ligue 1 clubs.
Although this is looking bright for the club, some other teams are also emerging from nowhere including teams like Lille.
AS Monaco
The Principality club of Monaco is also one of the most respected football clubs in the French Ligue 1.
They are also winners of the top division with eight wins in the club’s history.
The club won its inaugural league title in 1960–61 and followed up with its success by adding another trophy two years later in 1962–63.
The last time AS Monaco won the French Ligue 1 was in the 2016–17 season where they altered Paris Saint-German successive title wins which could have seen the french giants win an eight successive seasons title sweep.
The club has also ended up as runners up on different occasions.
Other notable trophies including the Trophée des Champions 4, Coupe de la Ligue 1, Coupe de France 5. A total of five French Ligue 1 winners in the past.
AS Monaco had notable players in the world including Kylian Mbappe, James Rodriguez, Thomas Lemar, Bernardo Silva, etc.
Today, these players are scattered all over Europe.
Some of the problems AS Monaco faced was the exodus of some it’s best legs to other big european powerhouse.
FC Nantes
FC Nantes is a professional football club based in Nantes and competes in the French league.
The club is also a major force in the history of the league with over eight titles in won the past.
Nantes won its first league title in the 1964–65 season and defended the title successfully in the following season in the 1964–66 campaign.
The last time FC Nantes lifted the trophy was in the 2000–01 season.
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais or Olympique Lyon and simply Lyon for short is a professional football club based in Lyon.
The club entered the French Ligue 1 scene with an iconic league title win in 2002.
This was the first time the club had been crowned Champions of the country’s top tier league.
With this iconic win, Lyon stunned french football clubs by winning the title in seven consecutive seasons, marking its name in bold in the French league all-time winners list.
This would have been extended to eight, but the brilliance of Bordeaux was enough to stop from becoming a manifestation.
Other notable clubs that have won the title includes Bordeaux 6, Reims 6, Roubaix 6, Lille 5, Standard Athletic Club 5, Nice 4, etc.
Ligue 1 Winners – Full list
2020–21?
2019–20 Paris Saint-German
2018–19 Paris Saint-German
2017–18 Paris Saint-German
2016–17 AS Monaco
2015–16 Paris Saint-German
2014–15 Paris Saint-German
2013–14 Paris Saint-German
2012–13 Paris Saint-German
2011–12 Montpellier
2010–11 Lille
2009–10 Marseille
2008–09 Bordeaux
2007–08 Lyon
2006–07 Lyon
2005–06 Lyon
2004–05 Lyon
2003–04 Lyon
2002–03 Lyon
2001–02 Lyon
2000–01 FC Nantes
1999–2000 AS Monaco
1998–99 Bordeaux
1997–98 Lens
1996–97 AS Monaco
1995–96 Auxerre
1994–95 FC Nantes
1993–94 Paris Saint-German
1992–93 Marseille (Stripped)
1991–92 Marseille
1990–91 Marseille
1989–90 Marseille
1988–89 Marseille
1987–88 AS Monaco
1986–87 Bordeaux
1985–86 Paris Saint-German
1984–85 Bordeaux
1983–84 Bordeaux
1982–83 FC Nantes
1981–82 AS Monaco
1980–81 Saint-Étienne
1979–80 FC Nantes
1978–79 Strasbourg
1977–78 AS Monaco
1976–77 FC Nantes
1975–76 Saint-Étienne
1974–75 Saint-Étienne
1973–74 Saint-Étienne
1972–73 FC Nantes
1971–72 Marseille
1970–71 Marseille
1969–70 Saint-Étienne
1968–69 Saint-Étienne
1967–68 Saint-Étienne
1966–67 Saint-Étienne
1965–66 FC Nantes
1964–65 FC Nantes
1964–64 Saint-Étienne
1962–63 AS Monaco
1961–62 Reims
1960–61 AS Monaco
1959–60 Reims
1958–59 Nice
1957–58 Reims
1956–57 Saint-Étienne
1955–56 Nice
1954–55 Reims
1953–54 Lille
1952–53 Reims
1951–52 Nice
1950–51 Nice
1949–50 Bordeaux
1948–49 Reims
1947–48 Marseille
1946–47 Roubaix–Tourcoing
1945–46 Lille
1938–39 Sète
1937–38 Sochaux
1936–37 Marseille
1935–36 RC Paris
1934–35 Sochaux
1933–34 Sète
1932–33 Olympique Lillois
1928–29 Marseille
1927–28 Stade Français
1926–27 CA Paris
1918–19 Le Havre
1913–14 Olympique Lillois
1912–13 Helvétique Marseille
1911–12 Saint-Raphaël
1910–11 Helvétique Marseille
1909–10 US Tourcoing
1908–09 Helvétique Marseille
1907–08 Roubaix
1906–07 RC Paris
1905–06 Roubaix
1904–05 Gallia Club Paris
1903–04 Roubaix
1902–03 Roubaix
1900–01 Standard Athletic Club
1899–1900 Le Havre
1898–99 Le Havre
1897–98 Standard Athletic Club
1896–97 Standard Athletic Club
1895–96 Club Français
1894–95 Standard Athletic Club
1893–94 Standard Athletic Club
Conclusion
The article highlighting the French Ligue 1 winners, List of Champions and the most successful teams in the history of the French league.
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