10 best transfers of the Ligue 1 season
No division in Europe's top-five leagues benefited from an influx of economical talent afforded by a slew of lucrative sales like Ligue 1.
That's not a subjective assessment, but a non-partisan certitude proven by glancing at any of the term's 20 sides, where both permanent moves and short-term loans boosted the squads of both France's big fish and its minnows fighting for their top-tier lives.
For every move the profile of a Memphis Depay to Lyon, there's an abundance of thrifty switches like Allan Saint-Maximin and Enzo Crivelli's loan spells with Bastia, or Dante's bargain-basement €2.5-million move to Nice, or Andy Delort's budget mid-season move to Toulouse.
10. Thomas Meunier - Paris Saint-Germain
When not spouting homophobic barbs at the gaffer or punching police, Serge Aurier has the skill set of one of Europe's best full-backs.
Even so, Unai Emery has shown a penchant for rotating full-backs, prompting the capital club to empty its coin purse for Thomas Meunier's €6-million move from Club Brugge. It's proved a prescient and affordable move, as the 25-year-old Belgian international was as solid in the league as he was in Europe, notably a performance against Basel where Meunier's dazzling 90th-minute winner ensured PSG's progression to the knockout stage.
9. Marcal - Guingamp
Surplus to requirements at Benfica, the Eagles moved the Gremio youth product Marcal to Guingamp on a season-long loan, and the 28-year-old left-back was one of Ligue 1's best at the position.
In 31 matches for EAG, Marcal chipped in with seven assists, but it was his versatile offerings that benefitted the Bretons most. As strong racing forward as he was in defence, Marcal's passing skills played a substantial role in guiding the club to the comforts of a 10th-placed finish.
8. Bafetimbi Gomis - Marseille
You'll have to excuse any Swansea City Jack Army faithful who caught a Marseille match this year only to wonder if striker Bafetimbi Gomis had been replaced by a player who actually scores.
After amassing just 13 Premier League goals in 64 matches for the Swans, the Saint-Etienne academy product notched a career-best 20 for OM whilst on loan from the south Wales lot, the fourth-highest output in Ligue 1 this season.
7. Christopher Jullien - Toulouse
Not all influential additions are of the high-profile variety, and it's often the transfers that fly under the radar that are of the biggest consequence.
Look no further than Toulouse centre-half Christopher Jullien, whose €2.8-million move in the summer from Freiburg was a steal of the highest order. Jullien, 24, featured 35 times for Pascal Dupraz's budding side, and was instrumental in Les Pitchouns' conceding the fewest goals of any bottom-half side, and the joint-third fewest in Ligue 1.
6. Benjamin Mendy - Monaco
Imagine a moment you're Marseille. Mired by a dire spell since winning the league in 2009-10, and looking to boost modest finances, you sell left-back Benjamin Mendy to Monaco for €13 million.
A year on, and Mendy has vaulted from a player with potential to a legitimate star, and with it, has attracted the interest of some of Europe's biggest clubs. Just 22 years old, Mendy is likely to garner a fee double the one Les Phoceens' demanded for the French international should the principality lot look to both profit and give prodigious young Brazilian Jorge a shot at full-back.
5. Wylan Cyprien - Nice
Before suffering a knee injury on March 11 that ruled him out for the remainder of the season, Nice midfielder Wylan Cyprien had enjoyed a stunning breakthrough campaign on the Cote d'Azur, scoring eight times in 29 matches for Les Aiglons.
Typically played in a three-man midfield with fellow star Jean-Michel Seri and a combination of Mathieu Bodmer, Vincent Koziello, and Remi Walter, Cyprien was given free reign to wander and benefit from a lethal cocktail of passing and pace. Not bad for a meager €5-million fee from Lens.
4. Ivan Santini - Caen
Ronny Rodelin's injury-time equaliser against Paris Saint-Germain may have saved Caen's Ligue 1 status, but it was Croatian forward Ivan Santini who guided SMC season-long with timely goals.
Pried from Belgians Standard Liege for a modest €2.5 million, the 28-year-old scored 15 times for Patrice Garande's lot, good enough for the joint-fifth-highest total in the division with Kylian Mbappe, Mario Balotelli, and Florian Thauvin.
3. Kamil Glik - Monaco
While Monaco's attacking core hogged the headlines, Kamil Glik and Jemerson's centre-half partnership played a massive role in the principality lot's return to the apex of French football.
The Poland international cost Leonardo Jardim and Co. a laughable €11 million from Torino, an amount that could easily triple should Les Monegasques look to profit from the sale of the tough-tackler who led Ligue 1 for goals among defenders with six.
2. Mario Balotelli - Nice
If there's any justice in football, Nice will draw Liverpool in next season's Champions League group stage, and Mario Balotelli will haunt Jurgen Klopp for letting him escape the Anfield doghouse.
For that to happen, the enigmatic Italian will have to agree to an extension at the Allianz Riviera, though after a bounce-back 2016-17, why not? Les Aiglons took a chance on Balotelli, and he repaid Lucien Favre's risk, bagging a career-best 15 league goals after making the south coast switch on a free transfer.
1. Florian Thauvin - Marseille
As the adage goes, one man's garbage is another man's gold, and few footballers embody that concept like Marseille's Florian Thauvin.
Dispatched to the south coast on a season-long loan after spending half the previous term at the Stade Velodrome, Thauvin starred for Rudi Garcia's lot this season after being ridiculed with Newcastle. Marseille's fifth-place finish and return to European football is largely due to Thauvin's stunning season, where then Orleans-born winger paired 15 goals with eight assists on the right flank.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)