Olivier Giroud

Lore & Background

Giroud began his senior club career playing for hometown club Grenoble, before signing with Tours in 2008. He was named Ligue 2 Player of the Year in 2010 after finishing as the league's top goalscorer. He moved to Montpellier in a transfer worth €2 million, winning the club's first Ligue 1 title and finishing as league top goalscorer in 2012. He then joined Arsenal, winning three FA Cups and scoring over 100 goals. He signed for Chelsea in 2018 for £18 million (€20.7 million), winning the FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, and UEFA Europa League, finishing as top goalscorer in the latter in 2019. He signed for AC Milan in 2021, helping them win the 2021–22 Serie A. After a one-year stint with Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer, he returned to France and Ligue 1, joining Lille. He made his senior international debut for France in 2011, earning 137 caps and appearing in seven major tournaments. He received the Bronze Boot as joint second-highest goalscorer as France finished runner-up at UEFA Euro 2016, and later won the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and finished runner-up at the 2022 World Cup, where he again received the Bronze Boot.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at the Stade de France hummed like a living thing. November 2016. The air was thick with the smell of cut grass and ten thousand held breaths. Giroud stood in the centre circle, hands on hips, scanning the pitch the way he always did — not looking for glory, looking for the gap, the space, the moment. The whistle blew. Portugal pressed high. France absorbed. And then, in the 109th minute, the ball rose into the night sky above Saint-Denis, and Giroud watched it fall past his outstretched fingertips, into the net. He did not scream. He did not celebrate. He simply stood in the centre of the world, the blue shirt heavy with rain and silence, and let the noise of the empty stands wash over him. Around him, the young faces of a nation were turning away. He was the one who stayed, the one who held the line, even when the line had already broken.

Reader's Guide

Giroud was born on 30 September 1986 in Chambéry and raised in Froges. He is of partial Italian descent through both grandmothers. He obtained a baccalaureate in economics and social sciences and completed a second year of a degree in science and techniques of physical and sports activities at Joseph Fourier University. He began organised football at Olympique Club de Froges, then joined Grenoble at age 13. He spent five years in Grenoble's youth academy, signing his first professional contract at 21. He was promoted to the reserve team in 2005–06, scoring 15 goals in 15 matches. He made his professional debut on 27 March 2006 as a substitute against Gueugnon. He scored his first professional goal on 26 February 2007 against Le Havre. He spent the 2007–08 season on loan at Istres, scoring 14 goals. He joined Tours on 28 May 2008, scoring 14 goals in his first season and four goals in a match against Arles-Avignon in 2009–10.

Did You Know?

• Giroud scored his first professional goal as an injury-time winner against Le Havre.
• He scored four goals in a single match for Tours against Arles-Avignon in 2009.
• Giroud is of partial Italian descent through both his paternal and maternal grandmothers.
• He completed a second year of a university degree in sports sciences while pursuing football.