5 African players with the most Ligue 1 goals
Many African players have graced the Ligue 1 over the years, with some of them turning out to be prolific scorers in the competition.
It has been a long and fruitful association between the Ligue 1 and players from Africa, with the latter also going on to find success in the other top leagues across Europe.
On that note, let's take a look at the five highest African goal-scorers in Ligue 1 history:
#5 Toifilou Maoulida (Comoros) - 71 Ligue 1 goals
Toifilou Maoulida belongs to the rare group of talented footballers who never played international football despite being eligible for not one but two countries.
The forward retired in 2017 after a career spanning exactly two decades, all of which came in the French leagues with as many as 11 different sides.
Maoulida spent most of his years in the Ligue 1, scoring 71 goals, doing so mostly for Montpellier, his first professional side, and Lens. He also chipping in with 16 assists.
Despite playing for such a long time in French football, Maoulida's only piece of silverware was the UEFA Intertoto Cup with Montpellier in 1999.
#4 Japhet N'Doram (Chad) - 73 Ligue 1 goals
Rarely do we see a player from Chad making the cut in any of Europe's top-five leagues. That is mostly due to the country's relatively modest footballing stature and general lack of talented players.
In fact, the last such player from Les Sao to ply his trade in an elite European league was Japhet N'Doram, who is a legendary figure at Nantes, where he played for seven years in the 90s.
He was nicknamed 'The Wizard' for his ability to successfully operate from multiple positions, especially in attack.
Japhet N'Doram is the club's all-time top-scorer, both in Ligue 1 and in all competitions, netting 72 goals for them. He scored only one Ligue 1 goal for AS Monaco in his lone season at the club in 1997/98, which happened to be the last of his 14-season professional career.