Youth development: The best players - ranked
Check out the rankings of the players who have played the most games and scored the most goals for their parent club in Ligue 1 Uber Eats in the 21st century.
The rivalry between Saint-Etienne and Lyon is very much in evidence among the most influential players with their parent club. The two historic clubs share the records for games played and goals scored by youth academy talent in the 21st century.
Loyalty rewarded
The longevity record is held by the emblematic Loïc Perrin, who joined Les Verts at the age of 12 and played there for 17 seasons, making 383 Ligue 1 Uber Eats appearances for the club! It was in 2003 that he moved from the reserves to the pro team, and then to Ligue 2 BKT, taking advantage of the club's policy of investing in its young talent. As a midfielder, full-back or central defender, Perrin was a symbol of the Saint-Etienne youth system. In the end, he spent his entire career there.
This puts Loïc Perrin ahead of a OL academy product Anthony Lopes who, across all competitions, has played more than 450 games for his club, Olympique Lyonnais. And in Ligue 1 Uber Eats, the keeper has racked up a commanding 354 appearances.
Anthony Lopes (33) spoke to Ligue1.fr about his loyalty to OL: "I know that it's very complicated to stay at the very highest level with the same club. I'm lucky enough to be able to do that and, above all, to be able to play for the club in the town where I grew up. I'm a very loyal person and I'm at a club that I love. I hope I'm one of the people who embody the values of the club when you think of Olympique Lyonnais and the squad."
In the ranking of players who have worn the jersey of their youth club the most times, Loïc Perrin and the current Lyon goalkeeper are ahead of two other players who never played for any other club: Romain Danzé, the figure-head and captain of Stade Rennais FC between 2006 and 2018, and Marc Planus, who played for Bordeaux - the club where he first pulled on his boots at the age of 7 - between 2001 and 2015.
Academy to first team - Most appearances:
1. Loïc Perrin (ASSE): 383 matches
2. Anthony Lopes (OL): 354 matches
3. Romain Danzé (SRFC): 323 matches
4. Marc Planus (FCGB): 300 matches
5. Sidney Govou (OL): 270 matches
6. Alexandre Lacazette (OL): 246 matches
7. Jérémie Janot (ASSE): 242 matches
8. Maxime Gonalons (OL) and Nicolas Penneteau (SCB): 241 matches
10. Mathieu Debuchy (LOSC): 233 matches
11. Marouane Chamakh (FCGB): 230 matches
13. Frédéric Da Rocha (FCN): 229 matches
13. Geoffrey Jourdren (MHSC): 225 matches
14. Fabien Cool (AJA): 216 matches
15. Jean-Pascal Mignot (AJA) and Vincent Manceau (SCO): 201 matches
Scorers: Lacazette far ahead
In terms of scorers, Olympique Lyonnais are also well represented, with Alexandre Lacazette dominating the ranking for the 21st century. The current Lyon captain has scored 130 goals for his club in Ligue 1 Uber Eats. A significant lead over the competition led by Djibril Cissé, who came up at AJ Auxerre, and Marouane Chamakh with Les Girondins. Two other Gones players follow: Nabil Fekir and Sidney Govou.
Among the current players not in the top ten, Kévin Gameiro is the highest scorer with 27 goals for RCSA.
Academy to first team - Most goals:
1. Alexandre Lacazette (OL): 130 goals
2. Djibril Cissé (AJA): 67 goals
3. Marouane Chamakh (FCGB): 56 goals
4. Nabil Fekir (OL): 54 goals
5. Sidney Govou (OL): 46 goals
6. André Ayew (OM): 44 goals
7. Karim Benzema (OL): 43 goals
8. Pierre-Alain Frau (FCSM): 40 goals
9. Youssouf Hadji (ASNL): 39 goals
10. Bafé Gomis (ASSE): 38 goals
11. Eden Hazard (LOSC): 36 goals
12. Jimmy Briand (SRFC): 33 goals
