The official announcement is still missing, which is still expected soon, but at the end of this season Olivier Giroud will say goodbye to Milan: his contract is expiring and he has decided not to renew it. His future will be in the United States Los Angeles FC. The Frenchman’s adventure with the Rossoneri officially began on July 17, 2021, lasted three years. Three very intense seasons and certainly characterized by more joys than disappointments. There are at least 9 reasons to say thank you to Olivier Giroud9 like his shirt number which he honored from the first to the last day.
1. HIS LOVE FOR MILAN – The French striker has never hidden his love for the Rossoneri club from day one. In recent years there has been no shortage of declarations of affection from Oli for Milan: “As a child I was always in love with Milan in Italy”, “Ours is a love story”, “Playing for Milan is a privilege, an honor”, “Milan was my favorite club when I was young”, “Being at Milan is a dream come true”.
2. NO TO INTER, YES TO MILAN – Before joining the Rossoneri, Giroud had been one step away from Inter. The attacker himself said it on the day of his presentation as a new Milan player: “Milan was the best option for me and I am grateful to be able to wear the Rossoneri colours. I am happy to be here. My time at Chelsea was ended also because the manager wanted to play with other players, spending a lot of money on the transfer market. There I understood that I had to leave the club and I received a great welcome from Maldini. I am Christian and I think that God wanted me to wear the shirt of Milan and not Inter last season.”
3. GIROUD TURNED AWAY – 5 February 2022, the 241st Madonnina derby will be played at San Siro. A defeat would have effectively cut Milan off from the Scudetto race and effectively handed the tricolor to Inter. And until the 75th minute it seemed all was over for the Rossoneri, trailing by a goal due to Periric’s goal in the 38th minute, but then Olivier Giroud unleashed himself and scored an amazing brace in the space of three minutes (75′ and 78′) . In particular, the second goal has remained in the history of the Devil, so much so that the famous Curva Sud chant “Giroud has turned!” was born from there. That evening began Milan’s ride which ended on May 22nd with the victory of Milan’s 19th scudetto.
4. THE DOUBLE AGAINST SASSUOLO – Last day of the championship, it is May 22, 2022. With a victory at Sassuolo, Milan would win their 19th scudetto. The tension is sky high, but Giroud once again takes care of dragging the Devil with two very heavy goals, the umpteenth of his season. The match ends 3-0 and the Devil’s celebration for the scudetto can thus begin.
5. THE 19TH CHAMPIONSHIP – According to many it was one of the best championships in Milan’s history. And on this tricolor there is the indelible signature of Olivier Giroud, author of some very heavy and decisive goals for the final victory of Stefano Pioli’s team: the brace in the derby, the goal in Naples and the two goals against Sassuolo just to name a few .
6. THE GENOA PARADE – Giroud has not only been important for the Devil in these three years for goals, but also for a save: who can forget his performance in goal in the minutes of Genoa-Milan on 7 October 2023? After Maignan’s expulsion, Pioli ran out of substitutions and therefore an outfield player had to go in goal. Oli makes an immediate contribution and in the last minutes of the match he is called upon to make an important exit on Gudmunsonn which is worth the three points for Milan. These are Giroud’s words then on the save: “I thought I had to go for the ball, I took courage and went. I made a great save.”
7. EXAMPLE AND PROFESSIONALISM – In these three seasons, Giroud has been an example of professionalism for all his teammates, especially for the younger ones. Despite his age, the Frenchman always placed himself at Pioli’s complete disposal and was often forced to play many games in a row due to injuries to the other attackers. If at almost 38 years of age he has still managed to score 14 goals in Serie A, the credit is undoubtedly due to his passion and dedication for this sport.
8. MILAN’S TOP SCORER IN THE LAST THREE SEASONS – Giroud has been the best seasonal scorer of the Rossoneri team in the last three years, counting all competitions: 14 goals (like Leao) in the 2021-2022 season, 18 goals in the 2022-2023 season and 16 goals this season (there are still two to go matches, Pulisic is behind him with one goal less).
9. HE FINALLY DISBUSTED THE CURSE OF THE NUMBER 9 JERSEY – We arrive at the ninth and final reason to say thank you to Giroud, 9 like the shirt number he has worn in recent years at Milan. For years, after Pippo Inzaghi’s farewell, there was much talk about the “curse of Milan’s number 9 shirt” because anyone who wore it after Superpippo failed. The same thing didn’t happen with Oli who finally dispelled this curse.
To conclude, two simple words: THANK YOU OLI!!!
