Veteran striker Olivier Giroud defined his underwhelming spell at LAFC by saying that the fashion of play in MLS “did not essentially go well with me.”
The 38-year-old’s contract with LAFC was set to run out on the finish of this yr, however the membership and Giroud mutually agreed to part ways so he might go away on a free switch and be part of Lille, which completed fifth in Ligue 1 final season.
Giroud is France’s all-time main males’s scorer with 57 targets and received the 2018 World Cup with Les Bleus. Though he was common with followers at LAFC, he managed simply 5 targets in 38 matches for the workforce.
“The fashion of play within the MLS did not essentially go well with me,” he mentioned as he was introduced to the media at Lille on Wednesday. “Coming again to France 13 years later is a chance and an unimaginable problem for me.”
Giroud left the French league in 2012 after serving to unheralded Montpellier beat Paris Saint-Germain to win the Ligue 1 title, scoring 21 targets within the competitors that season, earlier than becoming a member of English Premier League workforce Arsenal, the place he received three FA Cup trophies.
He then performed for Chelsea and AC Milan, making a very good impression along with his knack for scoring essential targets, his hold-up play and his unselfishness — all hallmarks of his sport.
With Chelsea, Giroud received the Europa League in 2019 and the Champions League in 2021 in addition to the FA Cup, and he was additionally one of many key gamers when AC Milan received the Serie A title in 2022.
He insisted that his ageing physique can stand up to the trials of the French league and that he has a lot to supply new membership Lille.
“I really feel in fine condition bodily, don’t be concerned,” Giroud mentioned. “I am able to take up the problem. I really feel good for my age and I need to play till my physique says cease.”
Lille impressed at instances within the Champions League final season, beating Real Madrid, however will play within the second-tier Europa League this season.
“I want challenges, to problem myself, that is what has pushed my profession ahead,” Giroud mentioned. “This problem speaks to me.”
Lille opens its Ligue 1 marketing campaign at Brest in mid-August.
Info from The Related Press was used on this report.