5 amazing players sold by Lyon in the last decade
Ligue one has been dominated by Paris Saint-Germain for the past half a decade. Barring Monaco’s miraculous title win in the 2016-17 season, Unai Emery’s men are on course to make it five titles in the last six seasons, sitting 17 points clear at the top.
The last time we witnessed such dominance from a single team in Ligue one was from Lyon who claimed seven successive titles from 2001-2008. Since that era, Les Gones (“the Kids”) have managed to win a mere Coupe de France trophy.
For years Lyon have excelled domestically by matching their ability to snap up upcoming French talent with the willingness to sell their best players once a good offer came in. But with the emergence of PSG, backed by their billionaire owners and the continued sales of their best players, Lyon have drifted away from the summit.
So, here are 5 of their former players who could have helped Lyon continue their dominance in the French first division.
#5 Hugo Lloris
Currently one of the best shot-stoppers in the English Premier league, Hugo Lloris joined Lyon from league rivals Nice in a €8.5 Million deal in 2008, just after the French side had won their record-breaking 7th title in a row.
As fate would have it, Lyon’s domestic decline began soon after the young goalkeeper arrived. He would go on to win just a single Coupe de France trophy in a 4-year spell before joining Spurs.
But there was no shortage of individual honours as he won the Ligue 1 goalkeeper of the year in 3 of his four seasons at the Groupama stadium.
Currently, captain of the French National team, Lloris made more than 200 appearances for the club before moving on to Premier league side Tottenham in 2012. Since then, Lloris has gone on to become one of the finest goalkeepers for both club and country.