French Football League considers homegrown player quota

The French Football League (LFP) has conceded a consideration that would impose a homegrown players quota in an effort to improve the competitive balance in Ligue 1.

Hard to blame them, especially after Paris Saint-Germain won its fourth title on the trot last season by a staggering 31-point margin over Lyon and appear poised to become the first side since Les Gones to lift a fifth consecutive title.

The LFP has become uneasy over the fact a decorated PSG team featured only four homegrown talents or players signed from within Ligue 1 ranks, according to Matthieu Margueritte from Le Parisien.

Blaise Matuidi (Saint-Etienne), Lucas Digne (Lille), Serge Aurier (Toulouse), and Layvin Kurzawa (Monaco) were among Laurent Blanc's domestic double side.

"The League's mission is to think about how to improve Ligue 1," an LFP spokesman said about a proposal to impose a quota of locally reared talent in a fashion similar to the Champions League.

"There are ... a number of ideas regarding the economic model, including the one talked about in Le Parisien about limiting the number of players under a professional contract.

"We are taking the line of looking at a number of possible outcomes to improve the product and the economic model."

The LFP wasn't the only authoritative figure to express concern over PSG's dominance and squad quotas. Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas - whose team won seven Ligue 1 crowns on the trot - gave some insight into the direction French football could be heading.

"There are several initiatives," Aulas told RMC. "Limit the number of professional players to avoid wage bills getting out of control. Have players who have been trained locally. You would need eight, four of which have come through the club's own youth academy."

For context, Lyon has long boasted France's best academy, and the club regularly fields a squad where half the players emerged from Les Gones' youth system.

For all of Aulas' complaints, this season PSG will lean heavily on a French core of Kurzawa, Matuidi, and Adrien Rabiot while homegrown talents Presnel Kimpembe, Alphonse Areola, Hatem Ben Arfa, and Jean-Kevin Augustin are certain to play roles as the club battles for titles on three fronts.