Les Génies Créatifs – Getting to know Ligue 1's top playmakers
March 10th, 2025by Brendán MacFarlane
The current Ligue 1 campaign has excited fans for the simple reason that it is one of Europe's most closely fought top-flight competitions – a single point separates league leaders Olympique Lyonnais from title holders Paris Saint-Germain, and Lyon's closest rivals find themselves just three points clear of Olympique de this weekend saw all three title challengers record heavy and commanding victories against inferior opposition, with OM opening the weekend with a six-one annihilation of Toulouse, PSG easing to a four-one victory over RC Lens and OL drawing the weekend to a close with a fine five-one away win at Montpellier.
Understandably, much of the media attention this season has focused upon the importance and impact of the clubs' main centre forwards – Lyon's Alexandre Lacazette, Paris Saint-Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimović and Marseille's André-Pierre Gignac. However, this weekend once again revealed the increasing importance of each of the top three's playmakers. When these three players play well, their teams usually excel.
Dimitri Payet – Olympique de Marseille
In French, playmaker translate as "meneur de jeu", literally 'leader of the game', and it's a phrase which seems to perfectly capture the importance of Payet's role in the current Marseille side. The 27-year-old was reportedly close to leaving the Stade Vélodrome in the summer to join Swansea City, the thought of which would appear to be almost unthinkable for the club's fervent support now, given the impact he has had on the club's season so far.
Payet initially began his career as a left-sided winger. After successful spells with three of France's biggest clubs – Nantes, Saint-Étienne and Lille – the La Réunion native signed for Olympique de Marseille for a fee of around €10million at the end of last season. However, last year he failed to find the form at France's biggest club that had intially drawn the attention of scouts to him.
Payet's fortunes in Bouches-du-Rhône changed upon Marcelo Bielsa's arrival, as the former Athletic Club Bilbao coach decided to move him into a central attacking midfield role in pre-season warm-up matches. It would be a move that would prove to be revolutionary for Payet, as the Marseille number 17 began to make the position his own, before fine performances in a role which had previously been occupied by Mathieu Valbuena would eventually lead to his return to the France international set-up.
Speaking relatively objectively about his role, given how little experience he had playing in the position before this season, Payet told France Football recently that being a playmaker is of extreme significance to the overall cohesion of a side, because finding the last pass, in his opinion, is more difficult than scoring.
In this sense, Payet's role is of paramount importance to Bielsa's game, because teams often try to sit deep and
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