Giroud goes the Messi way: FIFA World Cup winner and France’s record goalscorer joins MLS side LAFC

FIFA World Cup-winning French striker Olivier Giroud confirmed his move to Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC on a free transfer from AC Milan on Monday.

LAFC formally announced the long-anticipated move Tuesday for the 37-year-old Giroud, who will leave Europe, at the end of this season, after 18 years in the top professional leagues in France, England and Italy.

LAFC general manager John Thorrington said the club has been eager to add Giroud since last fall, and it attempted to land his services in the January transfer window.

The 2022 MLS Cup champion and 2023 runner-up then decided to wait for Giroud to become available this summer, rather than signing another offensive star for the current season.

“The way he fits really complements our attacking group,” Thorrington told The Associated Press, “.. I think what you see with his ability is he’s not just a pure goal-scorer. He is very good at facilitating play, and that’s what we saw, which is so compelling.”

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Giroud is best known for his six prolific seasons at Arsenal from 2012-18, followed by three years apiece at Chelsea and Milan. He has scored 285 goals in 716 matches during his club career while winning a wealth of trophies, including a Champions League triumph with Chelsea, three years ago.

Giroud will finish up a solid season for Milan with two more matches. He is currently fourth in Serie A with 14 goals and is among the league’s top overall playmakers.

Giroud celebrates scoring a goal for AC Milan in the Serie A.
| Photo Credit:
REUTERS

“His productivity is incredible,” Thorrington said. “We’ve never had just a pure goal-scorer. That’s not the way we play. I think his combination of skill sets, with his ability to link play, his ability to finish, his tactical mentality, we think he’ll be an incredible addition.”

LAFC is fifth in MLS’ Western Conference at 5-4-3, but manager Steve Cherundolo’s team isn’t currently struggling to score goals while led by Denis Bouanga.

The French-born forward who represents Gabon internationally tops LAFC with six goals, and the club’s 22 goals in league play are more than every MLS team except Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami and crosstown rival LA Galaxy.

Giroud will be reunited at LAFC with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, his longtime teammate for France. Lloris left Tottenham to sign with LAFC ahead of this season, and both stars have young families who embraced the chance to live in sunny Los Angeles. Giroud and his wife, Jennifer, have four children.

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“I think it helps that we have one of his best friends in football in Hugo as our goalkeeper,” Thorrington said. “I don’t think he’s coming just because of that, but I think that did enable conversations at a different level than I could have with him. What’s it like to play there? What’s it like for your family? That helped Olivier make the decision.”

Giroud’s years of club success and World Cup stardom have made him an international star. But Thorrington said that’s not the primary motivation for the move by LAFC, which also signed MLS Cup Final hero Gareth Bale for a brief, trophy-winning stint in 2022.

LAFC’s roster is built on a bedrock of talent from throughout North and South America, but headlined in recent years by European luminaries — from Chiellini and Bale to Bouanga and Giroud.

“We are a star town, and we’ve never shied away from (the fact) that matters in LA,” Thorrington said.

“But we don’t ever invest because of just that. It needs to be the right combination, but certainly when our owners met with Olivier and you can see his hunger to win, it’s very clear that he’s coming here to help bring this club to the success that everybody wants.”