All the Frenchmen who have passed through Real Madrid: Anelka, Zidane, Mbappé…

As neighbors who share a border, it doesn’t come as a great surprise to learn that France is the third country to have had the most foreign players on the books at Real Madrid. The French rank just behind Brazil and Argentina - two countries which are not exactly just down the road from the Spanish capital and only the latter are Spanish speakers.

Kylian Mbappé is the latest in a long line of French players to have crossed the Pyrenees to star for Los Blancos - some of them now elevated to legendary status, some struggled to make their mark, a few left after making barely a handful of appearances and for one, the experience was so underwhelming it sent him to sleep.

During the club’s 121-year history, a grand total of 21 French players have been part of the Real Madrid squad as fully signed-up players with contracts. Many others joined on short, six-month or one-season loans but let’s focus on the ones who not only succeeded at perhaps the most demanding club around, but wrote their names into the history books.

Zinedine Zidane (2001-2006)

The second Galáctico of the Florentino Pérez era and legendary figure as both a player and then in two hugely successful spells as a coach. Zizou is arguably France’s best export to have landed on Chamartín. He signed, aged 29, from Juventus for a world record fee of 73 million euros (12.9 billion pesetas/ 160 billion lire) on 9 July 2001, becoming the eighth Frenchman to sign for the club.

Elegant, charismatic, skillful and creative... it was almost as if the world stood still whenever he received the ball at the Bernabéu. He’ll be eternally remembered for his incredible volley in the 2002 Champions League final but the honors accumulated during his five seasons in the team didn’t really do him justice. He more than made it for it when he returned as coach years later.

Karim Benzema (2009-2023)

Another club legend, Karim is the longest-serving French player to have pulled on the white shirt and holds the appearances record for a foreign player: 648 appearances over 14 seasons. He was signed from Olympique Lyon in the summer of 2009 as an out-and-out centre-forward to shadow Raúl in the skipper’s final year.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing from the start and the explosive player that we had seen at Lyon took on a more sentinel role, creating spaces and providing assists for Cristiano than building up his own tally. His highlights reel has some unforgettable flashes of brilliance - who can forget his sublime volley against Osasuna… Benzema’s legacy wasn’t just what he did out on the pitch, it was also all of the little things that went unnoticed - on top of that a not insubstantial contribution of 354 goals, surpassing Di Stéfano and Raúl to become the second top goal scorer in Real Madrid history.

Claude Makélélé

One of the first signings of the Florentino Pérez era, Makélélé joined in the summer of 2000 from Celta Vigo, costing €14 million (2.5 billion pesetas). He provided the muscle and brawn in the centre of the park in a highly attack-focused team. Claude was left to mop up whenever the team was caught on the break but soon grew tired of doing all the dirty work as one of the lowest earners in the squad. He held the club to ransom, demanding better pay and eventually left for Chelsea in the summer of 2003. His absence was instantly felt - Madrid took several seasons to recover from it and finally shore up the defensive midfield department.

Raphaël Varane

Dependable, rock solid, lightning pace, awareness… attributes Varane had in abundance during his time at the Bernabéu. He is an obvious choice for the list - not just for his 360 first team appearances but for an incomparable honors list which includes three LaLiga titles and four Champions Leagues.

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Nicolas Anelka

One of three of the last signings made under Lorenzo Sanz. Madrid broke the bank for the talented forward but Anelka never settled. Disparaging fans and media didn’t help. His saving grace was a wonderful glanced header against the mighty Bayern Munich at the Olympiastadion in the Champions League which sent Madrid on their way to the final and La Octava.

Christian Karembeu

Another Sanz signing. Snaffled from under Barcelona’s noses from Sampdoria for 450 million pesetas. In terms of football skill, perhaps not in the same league as some others but he had a habit of scoring decisive goals - such as the one against Borussia Dortmund which booked Madrid’s ticket to Amsterdam, where they lifted La Séptima.

Raymond Kopa

Going further back, Kopa was Madrid’s first French superstar. Nicknamed Little Napoleon, he formed part of the feared 1950s Madrid side that featured Di Stéfano, Puskás, Gento, Rial… Agile and tricky to play against, he scored 30 goals in 101 appearances for the club and was the first French player to both win the Ballon d’Or and the European Cup.