This weekend, France's Ligue 1 is going to kick off its new season - a competition which regularly produces dozens of talented players. France are the new world champions, and while some members of the winning squad still play in their domestic league, most others started their road to the glory there - with some exceptions such as Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, who left their home country too early and never played in Ligue 1. Anyway, let's see in which French clubs the 2018 World Cup winners played at different stages of their career.

Lyon (4)

Hugo Lloris (2008-12), Samuel Umtiti (2011-16), Corentin Tolisso (2013-17), Nabil Fekir (2014 - )

Lyon's academy is doing its job well, regularly producing young talents. While Lloris arrived from Nice before becoming the Nr.1 at Lyon and France, Umtiti, Tolisso and Fekir are all graduates of the local football school. After 2008, Les Gones have never become national champions, but they constantly generate players for bigger European League and sell them for big money. Lloris went to Tottenham, Umtiti to Barcelona and Tolisso to Bayern, and now Fekir is certain to complete a similar transfer - maybe alrady this summer. 

Paris Saint-Germain (4)

Blaise Matuidi (2011-17), Alphonse Areola (2012- ), Presnel Kimpembe (2014- ), Kylian Mbappe (2017- )

One could expect more France internationals to have had an experience at PSG, one of the richest clubs in the world. However, even for Parisians it is not easy to lure the best Les Bleus players. Before his move to Juventus last year, Blaise Matuidi was often the only French player to regularly start at the Paris club, which mostly relied on South Americans and other foreigners. Now PSG boast three world champions, but only Mbappe was a regular starter at the World Cup, and the goalkeeper Areola managed to win the trophy without playing a single match for his national team. 

Marseille (4)

Steve Mandanda (2007-16, 2017- ) , Benjamin Mendy (2013-16), Florian Thauvin (2013-16, 2017-), Adil Rami (2017- ).

Marseille also have three World Cup winners in their squad, even if Mandanda, Thauvin and Rami mostly sit on the bench during the tournament. Dimitri Payet, who was one of France's heroes at Euro 2016, could have played a bigger role, but had to cancel his trip to Russia due to an injury. And Benjamin Mendy, who spent three season at Marseille before moving to Monaco, was just the second-choice left back behind Lucas Hernandez.

Monaco (4)

Kylian Mbappe (2015-17), Benjamin Mendy (2016-17), Djibril Sidibe (2016-), Thomas Lemar (2015-18).

All four players were members of the team that had a fantastic 2016/17 season, winning the French league in style. Monaco's attacking game was really impressive, and it was obvious that these guys will not stay at the club for a long time. And indeed, Mendy moved to Man City in 2017, Mbappe to PSG in the same year, and Lemar was transferred to Atletico Madrid this summer. Only Sidibe is still at Monaco, but for how long?

Lille (3)

Adil Rami (2006-11), Djibril Sidibe (2012-16), Benjamin Pavard (2014-16).

Just like Lyon and Monaco, Lille is another France's factory of talents, especially defensive ones. Rami, who joined the team from the amateur Frejus, became one of the best defenders in Ligue 1 during his five seasons and was transferred to Valencia. A similar story happened to Sidibe, and Pavar's career could have followed the same path, but Benjamin was not happy with little playing time and moved to Stuttgart at the age of 20. 

Caen (2)

N'Golo Kante (2013-15), Thomas Lemar (2013-15)

When Caen were promoted to Ligue 1 in 2014 and avoided relegation by finishing 13th in 2015, they had two future world champions in the squad. Kante was then hardly such a big star then as he is now, but he was a key player of the team thanks to his work ethics and deserved a move to Leicester in 2015. And Lemar, who is four years younger, did not play more than seven games in his debut season, but became a regular starter when Caen returned to the top flight - and afterwards made a step forward to Monaco.

Nice (1)

Hugo Lloris (2005-08)

Born in Nice into an upper-class family (which is unusual for a football player), Lloris was a graduate of the local club's academy who debuted at the main team at 19. The young goalkeeper's talent was evident, and Hugo quickly became the first-choice goalie. He spent two season in that role, between 2006 and 2008, before moving to Lyon who needed to replace the veteran Gregory Coupet at that time.

Saint-Etienne (1)

Blaise Matuidi (2007-11)

Born in Toulouse but raised in a Paris suburb, in Ligue 1 Matuidi is widely remembered for his performances at PSG. However, he spent four years at St.Etienne before moving to the capital. At this team, he played alongside such renowned players as Bafetimbi Gomis and Dimitri Payet, and became St.Etienne's captain at just 22. As a result of his consistent game, Matuidi attracted the interest of Arsenal and Milan, but eventually he did not move abroad before the age of 30.

Montpellier (1)

Olivier Giroud (2010-12)

A typical late bloomer, Giroud played for second-class teams like Grenoble, Istres and Tours before breaking through at Montpellier at the age of 25. The 2011/12 produced a big sensation as Montpellier emerged from the middle of the table to become national champions, and Giroud was the best scorer of the league with 21 goals. After that, he was immediately picked up by Arsenal - and at 32, is not willing to return to France for the time being.

Rennes (1)

Ousmane Dembele (2015-16)

A product of Rennes academy, he was called "the prodigy" and even compared to Cristiano Ronaldo when he arrived at the main team at just 18. And Dembele lived up to expectations, having scored 12 goals at 26 matches during his debut season in Ligue 1. However, he did not stay at home for long - a transfer to Borussia Dortmund followed, and a year later Ousmane moved to Barcelona.

Amiens (1)

Steven Nzonzi (2007-09)

The defensive midfielder debuted at the national team at the age of 28, but he left France much earlier. The only club he played for in his come country was Amiens, between 2007 and 2009. Now this team in in the top flight, but back then, they were playing in Ligue 2, so Nzonzi has never played in Ligue 1.