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Top 10 Best Paris Saint-Germain Players of All Time

The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) soccer club was founded back in 1970, and they play in the top league in France, known as Ligue 1. After not having much success at the start of its existence, PSG has quickly turned itself into the best team in France and one of the best in Europe. Overall, they have won Ligue 1 ten times (1986, 1994, 2013-2016, 2018-2020, 2022), among other trophies. They have had some incredible players to have all of this success. Listed below are the greatest players in PSG history.

Who Are the Best PSG Soccer Players of All Time?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Kylian Mbappe
Edinson Cavani
Bernard Lama
Thiago Silva
Neymar
Safet Susic
Pauleta
Rai
Dominique Rocheteau

1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Four Ligue 1 Titles (2013-2016)
Four Ballon D’Or Awards (2013-2016)
156 career goals with the club

One of the most recognizable soccer players in the world, Zlatan Ibrahimovic deserves the nod as the greatest PSG player of all time. A striker, Zlatan spent a part of his legendary career with PSG from 2012-2016. While with PSG, he won the Ballon d’Or four times (2013-2016), won three Ligue 1 Player of the Year Awards (2013, 2014, 2016), was selected to four Ligue 1 Teams of the Year (2013-2016), and led Ligue 1 in goals three times (2013, 2014, 2016).

Over his five years with PSG, Zlatan scored 156 goals, the third-most in team history, and dished out 38 assists, tied for the fifth-most. As for PSG’s success with him as their star, the team won four Ligue 1 titles (2013-2016), two Coupe de France titles (2015, 2016), and three Trophee des Champions (2013-2015). After leaving PSG, Ibrahimovic has since played for Manchester United, LA Galaxy, and AC Milan.

2. Kylian Mbappe

Four Ligue 1 Titles (2018-2020, 2022)
Three Ligue 1 Player of the Year Awards (2019, 2021, 2022)
211 career goals with the club

PSG’s current star, Kylian Mbappe is close to claiming the title of best all-time PSG player. Mbappe is a masterful striker who has been with PSG since 2017. In his six seasons with the club so far, he has won three Ligue 1 Player of the Year Awards (2019, 2021, 2022), has made five Ligue 1 Teams of the Year (2017-2019, 2021, 2022), and has led Ligue 1 goals scored four times (2019-2022).

With plenty of time still to go in his career, Mbappe is already PSG’s all-time leading goal scorer, with 211 of them. He also is second all-time in assists at the club, with 48. When it comes to the success of the team with Mbappe, PSG has won Ligue 1 four times (2018-2020, 2022), the Coupe de France three times (2018, 2020, 2021), and made the Champions League Final in 2020. If Mbappe keeps up this pace, he will surely become the greatest star in team history.

3. Edinson Cavani

Six Ligue 1 Titles (2014-2016, 2018-2020)
Three Ligue 1 Team of the Year selections (2014, 2017, 2018)
200 career goals with the club

Edinson Cavani is a powerhouse PSG striker who played with both Zlatan and Mbappe. Cavani played seven seasons with the club for PSG from 2013-2020. In that time, he made three Ligue 1 Teams of the Year (2014, 2017, 2018), was the 2017 Ligue 1 Player of the Year, and led Ligue 1 in scoring twice (2017 and 2018).

Until Mbappe recently passed him, Cavani was PSG’s all-time leading goal scorer with 200 goals. His 25 career assists are the ninth most in club history as well. Additionally, during Cavani’s time with the team, they won six Ligue 1 titles (2014-2016, 2018-2020), and five Coupe de France titles (2015-2018, 2020), and helped them reach the Champions League Final in 2020. Cavani left PSG in 2020 for Manchester United, and after a few seasons with them, he went to sign with his current team in Valencia.

4. Bernard Lama

1994 French Division 1 champion
1994 France Football Best Player Award
138 career clean sheets with the club

The greatest goalkeeper in PSG history is Bernard Lama. Lama played for PSG in the mid-1990s for seven total years (1992-1997, 1998-2000). He helped the team win the French Division 1 title in 1994 (before it was known as Ligue 1) and was named the recipient of the France Football Best Player Award that same season.

In 318 career appearances with PSG, Lama recorded 138 clean sheets, meaning he did not allow any goals in over 43% of his appearances. He gave up less than one goal per game at 0.86 (273 goals in those 318 games). Along with helping the team win the French Division 1 title in 1994, Lama led the team to two Coupe de France titles (1993, 1995) and won the Trophee des Champions in 1995. After leaving PSG for the second time in 2000, Lama played one more professional season with Rennes before retiring in 2001.

5. Thiago Silva

Seven Ligue 1 Titles (2013-2016, 2018-2020)
Seven Ligue 1 Team of the Year selections (2013-2019)
17 goals scored with the club as a defender

The greatest defender in PSG history is Thiago Silva. Silva was a part of some great teams with the club for eight years, from 2012 to 2020. He made seven straight Ligue 1 Teams of the Year from 2013 to 2019, made three UEFA Teams of the Year in a row from 2011 to 2013, and was Ligue 1 Player of the Month twice (March 2013, October 2019).

Despite playing center back, Silva scored 17 goals and dished out six assists in his PSG career, respectable numbers for a defender. From 2012-2020, PSG won seven Ligue 1 titles (2013-2016, 2018-2020), six Coupe de la Ligue titles (2014-2018, 2020), five Coupe de France titles (2015-2018, 2020), and reached the Champions League Final in 2020. Silva eventually left PSG in 2020 to sign with Chelsea of the English Premier League, but he’ll always be remembered as one of PSG’s best.

6. Neymar

Four Ligue 1 Titles (2018-2020, 2022)
2018 Ligue 1 Player of the Year
118 goals with the club

The second current PSG star to make the list of all-time greats is Neymar. Neymar has played striker for PSG since 2017 alongside Mbappe. Neymar has made three Ligue 1 Teams of the Year (2018, 2019, 2021), was the 2018 Ligue 1 Player of the Year, and has won two Ligue 1 Player of the Month Awards (January 2020, August 2022).

When it comes to his numbers with PSG, Neymar has scored 188 career goals (fourth-most in team history) and dished out 47 assists (third-most in team history). Since joining the team, Neymar has helped PSG win four Ligue 1 titles (2018-2020, 2022), and three Coupe de France titles (2018, 2019, 2021), and helped them reach the Champions League Final in 2020. Injuries have slowed Neymar during some of his time with PSG, but he is still one of the best players in team history.

7. Safet Susic

1986 French Division 1 champion
1983 Ligue 1 Foreign Player of the Year
85 career goals with the club

One of the first great stars in PSG history was the great Safet Susic. Susic was an attacking midfielder, and he played nine years for the club during some of its early days from 1982-1991. He helped the club win their first French Division 1 Championship in 1986, and he also was named the Ligue 1 Foreign Player of the Year in 1983.

From his attacking midfielder position, Susic scored 85 career goals, good enough for eighth in team history. Along with leading their team to their first-ever top division title in 1986, Susic helped the team win the Coupe de France in 1983. Susic left the club in 1991, and he played the final season of his career with Red Starr before retiring in 1992. He certainly helped PSG to begin to turn the corner as a club, beginning the transition into the perennial power that they are today.

8. Pauleta

2003 Ligue 1 Footballer of the Year Award
Two Ligue 1 Team of the Year selections (2003, 2006)
109 career goals with the club

Pauleta was another phenomenal PSG striker, and he led them to many victories throughout the mid-2000s. Pauleta played five seasons with the French team from 2003-2008. He was a two-time Ligue 1 Team of the Year selection, earning the honor in 2003 and 2006, won the 2003 Ligue 1 Footballer of the Year Award, and led Ligue 1 in scoring on two occasions in 2006 and 2007.

Pauleta’s 109 career goals with PSG are good enough for fifth on the all-time goals list at the club. While the club did not win the Ligue 1 title with Pauleta, they did win two Coupe de France titles (2004, 2006) and the 2008 Coupe de la Ligue title. After leaving PSG following the 2008 season, Pauleta made one more professional appearance, playing one game for Sao Roque in 2010 (and scoring two goals in that one game) before retiring for good.

9. Rai

1994 French Division 1 Champions
1996 ESM Team of the Year selection
74 career goals with the club

The best goal scorer for PSG in the early 1990s was Rai. Rai joined PSG in 1993 and played five seasons for the club as one of their attacking midfielders from 1993-1998. He made the ESM Team of the Year in 1996 and helped the team win the French Division 1 title in 1994.

Rai managed to score 74 career goals with PSG during his time there, good enough for ninth in club history. In addition to the second French Division 1 title in team history, Rai helped the team win two Coupe de France titles (1995, 1998), two Coupe de la Ligue titles (1995, 1998), and the 1995 Trophee des Champions. Rai left PSG in 1998 to play the final two seasons of his career with Sao Paulo in his native Brazil, and he certainly will be remembered as one of the PSG all-time greats.

10. Dominique Rocheteau

1986 French Division 1 Champion
Two Coupe de France Titles (1982, 1983)
100 career goals with the club

Playing with Safet Susic during the 1980s, Dominique Rocheteau was one of the best midfielders in PSG history. Rocheteau was another one of the club’s first true stars, and he played seven years for PSG from 1980-1987 as a winger/outside midfielder. Along with Susic, Rocheteau led the team to their first-ever French Division 1 league title in 1986.

On France’s all-time goals list, Rocheteau scored exactly 100 times, putting him in sixth place in club history. During his seven-year tenure, PSG won the Coupe de France twice in 1982 and 1983, along with the aforementioned Division 1 title in 1986. After his outstanding career with PSG, Rocheteau left for rival club Toulouse in 1987, and he spent the final two seasons of his career with them from 1987-1989 before retiring. He had a brief managerial career in his second life with Saint-Etienne from 2010-2011, but it did not last long.