Paris Saint-Germain clinched their second consecutive Ligue 1 title on Wednesday after closest challengers Monaco could only draw with Guingamp.

Here, AFP Sports selects five players who played central roles in helping PSG win the French title for the fourth time.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (SWE/forward)

France's player of the year in his debut Ligue 1 season in 2012/13, the Swede has been even better this time around. He leads the Ligue 1 scorers' charts with 25 goals and has 40 goals in all competitions, breaking the previous club record of 39, set by the Argentine Carlos Bianchi in 1978. The 32-year-old is irreplaceable and scored hat-tricks in wins at home to Nice and away to Toulouse. He has also provided 11 assists, the most in the division behind James Rodriguez of Monaco.

Edinson Cavani (URU/forward)

Cavani has actually been a little bit of a disappointment since his arrival for a Ligue 1 record 64 million euros (£52.9m, $88.9m) last summer. However, despite being forced to spend most of his time out wide in PSG's three-man attack because Zlatan Ibrahimovic must start through the middle, and despite spending the whole of February out injured, the Uruguayan has still weighed in with his fair share of goals. He has found the net 25 times in all, including 16 in Ligue 1. Ten of those goals came in a run of 11 matches before Christmas, and his individual strike against Bastia in October is a contender for goal of the season.

Thiago Motta (ITA/midfielder)

The Brazilian-born Italian international midfielder is the man who truly makes PSG tick. After missing large chunks of last season due to injury, the 31-year-old Motta has hardly missed a match this time around and controls the tempo of the game in a three-man midfield which also features the energy of Blaise Matuidi and the creative spark of Marco Verratti. The textbook Motta performance came in the 2-0 home win against Bordeaux in January, when he completed 130 passes in a majestic display. That Motta didn't play in the 2-0 loss at Evian in December, one of only two defeats suffered by PSG this season, is no coincidence. After all, he has been on the losing side just three times in 57 Ligue 1 appearances for the club.

Thiago Silva (BRA/centre-back)

Centre-back Silva, 29, is the captain of both PSG and Brazil. While by no means the most physically imposing of defenders, his reading of the game is second to none and the former AC Milan player is considered by many as the very best in his position in the world. Spent six weeks on the sidelines in the autumn with a thigh injury but otherwise has marshalled the Paris defence and has helped them claim the best defensive record in Ligue 1 once again. Made his 50th Ligue 1 appearance for the club against Rennes on Wednesday and is a nominee for the Ligue 1 Player of the Year award along with Ibrahimovic and Motta.

Gregory Van der Wiel (NED/right-back)

After a difficult first season in France following his transfer from Ajax, Dutch international Van der Wiel has flourished in the current campaign. Coach Laurent Blanc puts far greater emphasis on his full-backs getting forward than his predecessor Carlo Ancelotti, and Van der Wiel's rampaging runs from right-back have been a prominent feature this season and have also helped create several important goals, including Maxwell's equaliser in the 2-1 win away to bitter rivals Marseille in October. As a result, Van der Wiel has seen off the competition from Christophe Jallet to become the first choice in the position.