The 6 Ligue 1 players who left for exile in Mexico
Mexico is attracting more and more big names from Ligue 1. This Central American country, almost four times the size of France, is a good alternative for exile in the United States and MLS. Rumors surrounding the transfer of Dimitri Payet to the Tigers of André-Pierre Gignac and Florian Thauvin are intensifying. The writing of 90min.fr lists the players who have passed through Ligue 1 and then in Mexico.
The Olympique de Marseille striker between 2010 and 2015 is the first major Ligue 1 player to make this trip. André-Pierre Gignac left OM in 2015, with 77 goals and 188 games under these colors, for the Monterrey Tigres.
The 36-year-old French international scored 102 in Ligue 1 between Lorient, Toulouse and Marseille. At the Tigers, he is one of the best players and stalwarts in the team with 167 goals in 293 games in all competitions.
The attacking midfielder has joined his former Olympique de Marseille and France team-mate André-Pierre Gignac at the Monterrey Tigres. Florian Thauvin, world champion in 2018, arrived in Mexico in the summer of 2021 from OM.
In France, he made 281 matches with the Marseille club, 51 for Bastia and 3 with Grenoble. The Tigers have a player with great experience, including that of the Premier League during his time at Newcastle.
The Tigers appreciate French Ligue 1 players. The current OGC Nice striker wore the colors of the Mexican club during a quick stint between 2016 and 2017.
Before his exile, he played for Nîmes, Ajaccio, Metz, Tours, Wigan in England and Caen. Since his return in the summer of 2017, Toulouse Montpellier and now Nice have offered the services of the striker with 130 goals in all competitions now.
The French international, retired from sport since 2002, went through Mexico and FC León between 1996 and 1998. Paris Saint-Germain striker with 109 games under the colors of Paris, AS Monaco, Caen or Lille between others, his passage to the Mexican club will mark the end of his career in France since he will then join English clubs.
The centre-forward left for Mexico during the 2018-2019 season after his short spell in Turkey. Club América recruited him and the player won the Mexican Liga title and the Mexican Cup. He left the country for Paris FC.
Before leaving, he played for big clubs like Monaco, AS Roma, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan or Girondins de Bordeaux. Former French international, he now wears the jersey of Reggina 1914 since 2020, an Italian club in Serie B.
At the Tigres between 2017 and 2020, he made only 8 games with this jersey. Loaned in 2018 for 2 years to AS Saint-Étienne, the central defender or left side leaves the Mexican club in 2020 to continue his adventure with the Greens.
Before his exile, he played for Olympique Lyonnais, OGC Nice, Sevilla FC in Spain and Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany.
