The number of expatriate French footballers in the world has exceeded 1,000 for the first time. A sign that the French player is popular, but also that he is becoming inaccessible for certain French clubs.
Only Brazilians do better. Throughout the world, 1,033 French footballers play abroad today, the second highest total behind Brazil (1,289). Since 2017, the CIES Football Observatory has been studying data across 190 countries and 135 leagues and, for the very first time, the contingent of French players abroad has exceeded the threshold of 1,000 expatriates. A record that questions.
From Romania to Turkey via England or Italy, France floods the planet with players. “There is a popularity of the French footballer which has not been denied for several years“, observes Loïc Ravenel, co-founder of the Football Observatory, in charge of the study published in May on expatriate players. But how to explain that French players are so popular and should we only rejoice?
The expatriation of French players is above all a sign of the vitality of the tricolor formation. “French players tick all the boxes of modern football: they are fast, technical and physical. They also know how to adapt, they are good everywhere”underlines Yvan Le Mée, players’ agent within the Sport Profile structure, which has exported between 50 and 60 French talents abroad in recent years.
The French footballer fills the gaps abroad
Trained to meet the demands of high-level football, the French player is therefore popular. The results of the French team over time – four World Cup finals out of the last seven editions – maintain this fashion effect. “Scouts around the world monitor French players”, assures Ravenel. Among the four major European championships – La Liga, Premier League, Bundesliga and Serie A -, neighbors of France, the Habs make up for the shortcomings.
“We have profiles that appeal because they are different. These championships find in France what they do not have at home., says the agent. But this popularity is not limited to the French who can dream of a future with the Blues. Many young players come out of training centers without finding their place in France’s professional teams. A classic logic of “labor market”according to Ravenel.
“Quantitatively, the top players are few. Behind them, we have a mass of unknown players in a different market, which very often works with close relations, cultural relations, job opportunities and networks of agents with“, describes the researcher. Thanks to its good rating and well-established global networks, the French player finds more easily points of departure abroad.
Luxembourg, favorite destination of the French
The perfect example? Luxembourg, where the largest contingent of French expatriates is located. 124 French people evolve in the Grand Duchy, in championships at a lower level, but close to France and which allow them to live from their passion. This is the case of Rayan Philippe, 22-year-old striker from Hesperange, trained in Dijon, who this season is the most decisive player (32 goals and 28 assists in 31 games) on the continent.
At the “top players” , mentioned by Ravenel, the choice to leave France is often based on economic logic. With television rights much lower than the other four major European championships, Ligue 1 and its clubs have the greatest difficulty in matching the salaries charged by their neighbours. For Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and Premier League clubs, the French player is seen as a boon.
“The French player costs less than a Brazilian or an Argentinian. The Italians say that the French cost three times less than a local playersays Yvan Le Mée. The salary bases are higher abroad so the French have an interest in leaving. An average Ligue 1 club pays much less than foreign clubs“, adds the agent.
France ahead of Brazil in the long term?
Under these conditions, French clubs are the big losers, because they are unable to retain young talent or buy those who break into France. “From the moment they have played a few good matches in Ligue 1 or Ligue 2, French players become financially inaccessible for clubs like ours.”laments a sports director of a Ligue 1 club, who did not wish to be named.
Some elite French clubs, such as Stade de Reims or Toulouse, therefore sniff out good moves abroad rather than investing locally. The big clubs, such as Paris Saint-Germain, AS Monaco or Olympique de Marseille, do not fully invest in the French market either. Last summer, when he had not recruited a Frenchman since Lassana Diarra in 2018, PSG bet on Hugo Ekitike and Nordi Mukiele. The first disappoints while the second is only a substitute.
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Despite this lack of competitiveness of the French championship, Yvan Le Mée does not wish to be alarmed by the increase in expatriate French players: “We can tell ourselves that we have good training, that it changes the level of the selection and above all that the clubs can find an economic model through trading [miser sur des jeunes joueurs pour des sommes assez basses et les revendre à prix fort après leur émergence]”.
The expatriation movement of French players does not seem to be able to run out. Since 2017 and the first data provided by the Football Observatory, France has seen a 34.5% increase in its players playing abroad, against only 9.5% for Brazil. Eventually, the number of Habs in championships around the world could exceed that of Brazilians. “It could besays Ravenel. But the Brazilian player is also still popular. Brazil has margin and a very important reservoir and Brazilian football is organized for the export of its players.“