Founded in 1932, Ligue 1 has been transformed by the arrival of Paris Saint-Germain as a global superclub following their Qatari takeover in 2011. PSG have dominated French football since, winning 11 of the 13 league titles between 2012 and 2024. Their signing of Neymar in 2017 for a world-record £200 million underlined their global ambitions.

France's status as a producer of world-class players is unrivalled. The national team won the World Cup in 1998 and 2018, and Ligue 1 academies — particularly those at Lyon, Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain — have developed players including Kylian Mbappé, Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema.

Monaco reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2017 with a team of young players that included Mbappé, Bernardo Silva and Fabinho. The bottom three clubs are relegated each season to Ligue 2.