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Henry,football injuries Lloris & Griezmann: French influence in MLS

Ari Liljenwall

Orlando City made waves Tuesday with their blockbuster move for former French international and Atlético Madrid legend Antoine Griezmann, who will formally join the Lions in July at the conclusion of the LaLiga season.

With Griezmann’s MLS arrival now official, he’ll join a pantheon of French internationals who have made the move stateside.

Antoine Griezmann, Orlando City

Griezmann is the latest to join this distinguished group with the news he’s headed to Orlando City after he concludes his legendary run with Atlético Madrid this summer.

He brings a lofty pedigree, with his 137 caps for France tied with Giroud for third-most in history, and his 44 goals good for fourth-most behind Henry.

The 35-year-old also played a starring role at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, helping France claim the sport’s biggest prize, taking home man of the match honors in the tournament final vs. Croatia.

And that’s all in addition to his legacy at the club level, where he became an icon at Atlético as the club’s all-time leading scorer with 211 goals in 488 matches.

Hugo Lloris, LAFC

One of the top goalkeepers of his generation while starring in the English Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur, Lloris joined LAFC before the start of the 2024 season.

He’s continued his standout play in net, racking up 29 clean sheets while starting all 70 of his regular-season appearances. The 39-year-old has been integral to the Black & Gold’s record-breaking defensive start to the 2026 season, which has seen them remarkably concede no goals through MLS Matchday 5.

HUGOOOO 🧤

What a save to keep the clean sheet and set a new MLS record.

Save of the Match | @zellepay pic.twitter.com/6XqAYgzWzk
— LAFC (@LAFC) March 22, 2026

Olivier Giroud, LAFC

France’s all-time leading scorer with 57 goals in 137 caps, Giroud starred at the club level for the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and AC Milan before heading to MLS to join LAFC in 2024.

He didn’t end up putting up gaudy goal-scoring numbers for the Black & Gold, but he did help deliver LAFC the 2024 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup trophy, scoring his first club goal in the tournament final – a 3-1 win over Sporting Kansas City.

Giroud eventually transferred to Ligue 1 club Lille in 2025 after one year in MLS.

Thierry Henry, Red Bull New York

One of the original big-name stars to come to MLS, Henry joined Red Bull New York in 2010 after writing his legend at Arsenal, where he posted 228g/107a across 377 all-competition appearances from 1999-2007.

After a stint at Barcelona, Henry’s RBNY arrival was greeted with much fanfare, and he delivered on the pitch, pouring in another 52g/40a in 135 appearances before retiring in 2014.

Like Giroud, Henry is one of France's most prolific goal-scorers, with 51 goals in 123 senior caps.

Blaise Matuidi, Inter Miami CF

Another key member of France’s 2018 World Cup-winning side, Matuidi starred for Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus before joining Inter Miami CF in 2020.

The crafty midfielder went on to make 48 all-competition appearances for the Herons, recording 2g/1a before retiring following the 2021 season.

Youri Djorkaeff, Red Bull New York

Djorkaeff became the first-ever French player to join MLS when he joined the then-New York MetroStars in February 2005, taking home team MVP honors with 10g/7a that season.

After the club re-branded as New York Red Bulls in 2006, he played his final professional season with RBNY before retiring in October 2006. All told, Djorkaeff ended his run in MLS with 13g/12a in 48 games.

Bacary Sagna, CF Montréal

Sagna was a stalwart for Arsenal in the Premier League, recording 5g/24a in 284 all-competition appearances before moving to Manchester City, where he racked up 86 more appearances.

That preceded the right back's move to 2018 move to CF Montréal (then-Montreal Impact), where he played 40 matches before retiring in 2019. At the international level, Sagna had 65 appearances for France.

Ari Liljenwall - @AriLiljenwall