Olivier Giroud
French striker, second-highest goalscorer for Les Bleus, World Cup winner.
Olivier Jonathan Giroud (born 30 September 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Lille.
Quick Facts
- All-time record
- France's all-time top international scorer
- Status
- Active internationally after the 2022 World Cup
Lore & Background
Giroud began his senior club career playing for hometown club Grenoble, before he signed with Tours in 2008, aged 21. He was named Ligue 2 Player of the Year in 2010 after finishing as the league's top goalscorer. He was subsequently the subject of a then-club record football transfer when 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, where he won three FA Cups to help end Arsenal's nine-year trophy drought, and went on to score over 100 goals.
Giroud signed for crosstown rivals Chelsea in 2018 in a transfer worth £18 million (€20.7 million), winning the FA Cup, the UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Europa League, finishing as top goalscorer in the latter in 2019. Giroud then signed for AC Milan in 2021, helping them win the 2021–22 Serie A, which ended the club's 11-year league title drought. After a one-year stint in the United States, playing for Major League Soccer side for Los Angeles FC, he made his return to France and Ligue 1, joining Lille.
Giroud made his senior international debut for the France national team in 2011 at age 25, and went on to earn 137 caps, including appearing in seven major tournaments. He is his country's second highest goalscorer, receiving the Bronze Boot as joint second-highest goalscorer as France finished runner-up at UEFA Euro 2016. He later won the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League, the 2018 FIFA World Cup and finished runner-up at the 2022 World Cup, where Giroud again received the Bronze Boot.
Reader's Guide
Olivier Jonathan Giroud was born on 30 September 1986 in Chambéry in the Rhône-Alpes region, and was raised in the nearby village of Froges, close to Grenoble. He is of partial Italian descent through both his paternal and maternal grandmothers (Yvonne Avogadro and Antonia Gaiatto). Independently of his professional career, Giroud, after obtaining his baccalaureate in economics and social sciences (ES), completed a second year of a degree in science and techniques of physical and sports activities (STAPS) at the Joseph Fourier University, in Grenoble.
Giroud began organised football playing for his hometown club, Olympique Club de Froges. He spent six years training at the club before joining professional club Grenoble at the age of 13. Giroud spent five years developing in Grenoble's youth academy before signing his first professional contract at the age of 21. He made his professional debut on 27 March 2006 appearing as a late-match substitute in a 1–1 draw with Gueugnon in Ligue 2.
He scored his first professional goal on 26 February 2007, netting the injury time winner against Le Havre. He spent the 2007–08 season on loan at Istres in the Championnat National, scoring 14 goals. On 28 May 2008, he agreed to a three-year deal with Ligue 2 club Tours. In the 2009–10 season, he scored all four of Tours's goals in a 4–2 win over Arles-Avignon.
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