Prix Marc-Vivien Foe: Ranking Every Previous Winner

 

Goal rank every previous winner of the prestigious award to celebrate the best player in Ligue 1

#12 Karl Toko Ekambi

Toko Ekambi, then of Angers, saw off competition from the likes of Wahbi Khazri, Betrand Traore and 2021 winner Gael Kakuta to clinch the 2018 prize.

The Cameroon frontman - who's currently with Olympique Lyonnais - won the award after netting 17 goals for Les Scoistes, and has since played in a Champions League semi-final.

He currently has 12 goals for OL this season.

#11 Sofiane Boufal

Fantasy playmaker Boufal was the standout African talent in Ligue 1 in 2016, terrorising defences throughout the campaign and ending the season with 11 goals and four assists.

His form secured him a move to the Premier League and Southampton, although he struggled to truly emulate his performances in France in subsequent campaigns.

#10 Gael Kakuta

Once the protege of Didier Drogba, Kakuta's career hasn't exactly gone to plan since he departed Chelsea in 2015.

After encouraging spells with Dijon and Amiens, it's finally with Racing Club de Lens that he gets his hands on the Marc-Vivien Foe award.

The 29-year-old has scored 11 goals and registered five assists so far this term-comfortably the best goalscoring season of his career.

#9 Victor Osimhen

Comfortably top of the pile in 2020, Osimhen enjoyed a terrific maiden campaign in France with Lille.

He netted 13 goals, even though the season was brought to a premature close due to the coronavirus pandemic, and subsequently earned a €70 million move to Napoli.

It hasn't been an easy season in Naples, but Osimhen has begun to find his form after putting injuries and fitness concerns behind him.

#8 Younes Belhanda

Belhanda became the second Moroccan player to win the prize when he clinched the award in 2012.

It was deserved recognition for the playmaker, who had played an influential role in Montpellier’s campaign as MHSC denied Paris Saint-Germain the title.

#7 Marouane Chamakh

The inaugural winner was Chamakh, whose subsequent toil at Arsenal have made it too easy to forget just how effective a forward he was in Ligue 1.

The Morocco international scored 13 goals as Girondins de Bordeaux won the French title and also claimed the Coupe de la Ligue and the Champions Trophee under Laurent Blanc.

#6 Jean Michael Seri

Seri’s performances for OGC Nice in 2017 were critical in ensuring that Les Aiglons finished third and qualified for the Champions League playoffs.

They ultimately didn’t manage to make the group stage—and have struggled to maintain their form this season—but Seri’s return of nine assists and seven goals took him close to a move to Barcelona.

Since a move to Fulham, however, his career has unravelled. He's currently back in France with Bordeaux.

#5 Andre Ayew

Dede’s last campaign in France was among the finest seasons of his career, as he scored nine goals and contributed three assists.

He ended the year as a free agent, before securing something of a surprise move to Swansea City.

The Ghana international demonstrated that same form in spells in the Premier League, and is still with the Swans, attempting to fire them back to the big time.

The current Galatasaray man scored 22 goals across his last two campaigns in France before moving to Ukraine.

#4 Gervinho

Gervinho was one of the shining stars during a sensational LOSC Lille side that shockingly won the French title in 2011.

Featuring alongside the likes of Eden Hazard and Moussa Sow, Gervinho won his first Ligue 1 African Footballer of the Year award in 2010—a year after moving to Les Dogues from Le Mans.

He later became the first—and to date only—player to win the prize in back-to-back seasons when he retained his title in 2011.

Gervinho saw off competition from teammate Sow to clinch the gong, scoring 15 goals in 35 outings before securing a high-profile move to Arsenal.

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   #3 Nicolas Pepe

   Sensational for Lille in 2018-19, Pepe was the undisputed winner of the Marc-Vivien Foe award.

   The wideman scored 22 goals and weighed in with 11 assists for Les Dogues, making a mockery of their previous relegation concerns, and securing himself a big-money move to Arsenal.

   He hasn't subsquently replicated that campaign, nor has he come close to repaying the transfer fee the Gunners paid for him, but in 2018-19, Pepe truly was something exceptional.

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   #2 Vincent Enyeama

   Enyeama's time at LOSC Lille ultimately ended in disappointment, but the keeper established himself as one of the world’s best during his earlier tenure with the Northerners.

   The 38-year-old kept 11 consecutive Ligue 1 clean sheets, and was only beaten after 1,062 minutes, falling just 114 minutes short of breaking the record set by Gaetan Huard.

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   #1 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

   Like Chamakh and Gervinho, Aubameyang has ultimately ended up at Arsenal, but not before transitioning from lethal hotshot in France to genuine superstar in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund.

   The Gabon international ended his time at Saint-Etienne with 19 goals in the 2012-13, but took his numbers to a new level in Germany.

   He won the Bundesliga’s top scorer award in 2017 with 31 goals in 32 games, and has subsequently clinched the Golden Boot in England as well.