PSG has been home to some of the greatest strikers in world football throughout its existence, even before the Qatari cash started to flow into Parc des Princes.
Yet, despite the emphasis on attacking talent over the last 14 years, and the vaunted stars who have been brought to the club, not a single Paris Saint-Germain player has broken into the top five of Ligue 1’s all-time top scorers.
Even so, with many competitors to the crown, these are the greatest Paris Saint-Germain strikers of all time – the very best of whom may yet return to expand their legacy and maybe break those Ligue 1 records.
Kylian Mbappé (2017-2024)
Arriving on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy that made him the most expensive teenager of all time and second only to Neymar as the most expensive transfer in world football, Kylian Mbappé was worth every cent.
Over his seven years at the club, Mbappé put up a massive 256 goals and 110 assists in 308 games. His most important tallies, naturally, came in Europe, where he scored 42 goals and 26 assists in just 64 games for PSG.
Despite still only being 26-years-old, the eventual Ballon d’Or winner is the clear top scorer in Paris Saint-Germain history, having put up 56 goals more than the next-best on the list.
The French icon’s departure certainly didn’t go down well, nor will his continued presence as a game-changer for Real Madrid in the Champions League betting, but there’s still time for him to return to Paris and add to his accolades.
Perhaps fittingly, though, Mbappé’s departure from France came in the summer just before PSG finally achieved Champions League glory, helping to ease some of the tension between the player and the fans.
Zlatan Ibrahimović (2012-2016)
Driven by his massive, but well-earned, ego, Zlatan Ibrahimović played for a whole host of the best clubs in world football, hopping from Malmö to Ajax, then to Juventus, Inter Milan, and then FC Barcelona.
After that, the towering Swede came to AC Milan on loan and then signed on a permanent deal in 2011. A year after joining the Rossoneri, they flipped him to Paris Saint-Germain for profit.
From here, Ibrahimović set the standard for goal scoring in the French capital, soaring up the all-time PSG scorers list to become the club’s top scorer with 156 goals in just 180 games.
Now, two players sit ahead of Ibrahimović for PSG scoring, but the Swedish striker’s rate of a goal every 1.15 games is superior to both Edinson Cavani’s 1.51 and just ahead of Mbappé’s goal every 1.20 games.
In such a short burst, Ibrahimović set a new bar and broke records at the club, easily keeping him among the greatest PSG strikers of all time to this day.
Pauleta (2003-2008)
Overlooked in his home country for much of his career, Pauleta bounced out of the FC Porto youth system and then between five other Portuguese clubs before getting his big break in Spain with UD Salamanca.
With 25 goals in 50 games, Deportivo de la Coruña came calling, and after 76 games and 22 goals there – along with the titanic La Liga triumph in 1999/00 – Pauleta found himself in France, playing for FC Girondins Bordeaux.
A mighty 91 goals in 130 games for Bordeaux convinced PSG that he’d make for a strong €12 million signing in 2003. From there, Pauleta became a superstar of Ligue 1 and a goal machine for the Portuguese national team.
Over 211 games before taking an extended break from the sport in 2008, Pauleta scored 109 goals to help the club win the Coupe de France twice and Coupe de la Ligue once.
An incredibly impactful signing who departed the capital as the team’s all-time top scorer, and who remains fifth to this day, Pauleta did more than enough to secure his spot among the greatest PSG strikers of all time.
Edinson Cavani (2013-2020)
Firmly established as one of the best strikers in Europe, having put up 104 goals in 138 games for SSC Napoli in Serie A, Paris Saint-Germain won the race for Edinson Cavani by coughing up a French football transfer fee record.
Often pushed out to the left wing when sharing the pitch with Zlatan Ibrahimović, the Uruguayan still managed to score at a decent rate in his first few seasons in Paris.
In the season that the Swede departed for Manchester United, 2016/17, Cavani fired in 49 goals in 50 games. Mbappé and Neymar joined the following year, but Cavani remained the central striker, flying to 40 more goals.
Cavani remained at PSG until the end of the decade, totalling 200 goals and 43 assists in 301 games, which greatly helped the club to win the French cup, French league cup, and Ligue 1 six times each.
Having surpassed recent record-setter Ibrahimović with his double century, which stands second in club history, Edinson Cavani is undoubtedly one of the best PSG strikers ever.
Even now, Cavani can still be found in amongst the football odds, playing up front with the captain’s armband for legendary Argentinean club Boca Juniors.
Mustapha Dahleb (1974-1984)
Coming to the French capital from CS Sedan in 1974, Mustapha Dahleb would prove to be one of Paris Saint-Germain’s first true star players, offering them a real X-factor going forward.
The Algerian was a superbly technical striker, willing to pick the ball up and work his own angles on the dribble to find ways of beating opposing goalies.
Dahleb would stay with the still-young club for a decade, spurring them on to their first two bits of silverware – the 1982 and 1983 Coupe de France – while putting away 98 goals in 309 games.
Helping to establish PSG as a top-flight competitor and still the club’s seventh-highest goal scorer, Mustapha Dahleb can rightly stake a claim as one of the greatest Paris Saint-Germain strikers of all time.
