About Olivier Giroud - French football player
Olivier Jonathan Giroud is a French professional football player. He currently plays for Serie A club AC Milan and the France national team. His playing position is a striker.
Giroud started his youth career with Frogs in 1992 and has played professional football for several clubs like Grenoble, Istres (loan), Tours, Montpellier, Arsenal, and Chelsea. Regarded for his work rate, strength shot power, and consistent goal-scoring ability, he is often considered one of the most underrated strikers in the world. Currently, he is playing for AC Milan.
On the international level, Giroud has represented France at various age levels. He has represented France at the senior level. He made his senior international team debut for France on 11 November 2011. He represented France at the Euro 2012, 2016, and 2020, as well as FIFA World Cup 2014 and 2018, winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In November 2022, he was named to France’s squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He is his country's all-time top goalscorer, joint with Thierry Henry. Since his debut, he has obtained over 110 caps and scored over 50 goals for France.
Early Life and Family
Giroud was born on 30 September 1986. His birth name is Olivier Jonathan Giroud. His birthplace is Chambery, France. He holds French nationality and belongs to the white ethnicity. Likewise, his religion is Christianity and as per his birthdate, his zodiac sign is Libra. He is of Italian descent through both of his grandmothers. Detail about his parents has been kept secret and has not been disclosed yet. He grew up alongside his older brother, Romain. His brother, Romain was also a footballer, having played at the Auxerre academy and having represented France at U15 and U17 levels, however, he dropped a potential professional career to study and become a nutritionist. Information regarding education is currently unavailable.
Olivier Giroud Football Career
Giroud began his football career playing for his hometown club, Olympique Club de Froges in 1992 and spent six years training at the club.
Grenoble
- In 1999, at the age of 13, Giroud joined the youth team of Grenoble and began his career at the club. He spent five years developing in Grenoble's youth academy before signing his first professional contract at the age of 21.
- Ahead of the 2005-06 season, Giroud was promoted to the club's reserve team, which was playing in the Championnat de France Amateur 2, the fifth level of French football. He quickly became an important player in the team scoring 15 goals in 15 matches.
- Giroud made his professional debut on 24 March 2006, appearing as a late-match substitute in a 1-1 draw with Gueugnon in Ligue 2. He remained a part of the senior team for the rest of the 2005-06 campaign making five more substitute appearances for the club in all the competitions.
- Giroud was promoted to the senior team permanently for the 2006-07 season and was assigned the number 22 shirt. On 26 February 2007, he scored his first professional goal netting the injury-time winner against Le Havre. During his 2006-07 season, he made 20 appearances for the club, scoring 2 goals in all the competitions.
Istres (loan)
- In an attempt to earn some playing time, on 1 July 2007, Giroud was loaned to Istres in the Championnat National, the third level of football in France for the 2007-08 season where he made 33 appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals in all the competitions.
Tours
- On 28 May 2008, Giroud signed a three-year deal with Ligue 2 club Tours for €150,000 and went on to play two seasons for the club where he made 69 appearances for the club, scoring 38 goals and providing 9 assists in all the competitions. Additionally, in 2010, he became the top scorer in the Ligue 2 and was named the National Union of Professional Footballers Ligue 2 Player of the Year.
Montpellier
- On 1 July 2010, Giroud officially joined Montpellier for a transfer fee of €2 million, winning the club's first Ligue 1 title and finishing as the league's top goalscorer in 2012.
- At Montpellier, Giroud made 85 appearances for the club, scoring 39 goals and providing 17 assists in all the competitions.
Arsenal
- On 26 June 2012, Giroud signed a long-term contract with Premier League club Arsenal for a fee believed to be around £9.6 million (€12.4 million). He was given the number 12 shirt.
- Giroud made his debut for the club on 18 August 2012 in a 0-0 draw against Sunderland in the Premier League.
- On 20 April 2013, Giroud received his first red card for Arsenal against Fulham, which meant he would miss three of Arsenal's last four games of the season as his appeal was rejected by the Football Association.
- Following his impressive performances, Giroud became Arsenal fans' favorite in a short period of time.
- On 1 January 2017, Giroud scored with a backheeled "scorpion kick" volley in a 2-0 win against Crystal Palace, a goal described by Arsene Wenger as the greatest he had seen at the Emirates Stadium. The goal later earned him the FIFA Puskas Award for the goal of the year.
- Giroud spent six seasons for Arsenal where he made 253 appearances for the club, scoring 105 goals and providing 41 assists in all the competitions. Additionally, he is the club's eighteenth-highest all-time goalscorer.
- With Arsenal, Giroud won three FA Cups (in 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17), and FA Community Shield (in 2014, 2015, 2017) to help end Arsenal's nine-year trophy drought.
Chelsea
- On 31 January 2018, Giroud signed an 18-month contract with Chelsea for a transfer worth £18 million (€20.7 million).
- Giroud went on to play four seasons for Chelsea where he made 119 appearances for the club, scoring 39 goals and providing 14 assists in all the competitions, finishing as the top goalscorer in the latter in 2019.
- With Chelsea, Giroud won one FA Cup (in 2017-18), UEFA Europa League (in 2018-19), and UEFA Champions League (in 2020-21).
AC Milan
- On 17 July 2021, Giroud signed a two-year contract with Serie A club Arsenal for a transfer fee of €2.8 million, helping them win the 2021-22 Serie A, which ended the club's 11-year league title drought.
International Career
- Giroud has represented France at various age levels.
- Giroud has represented France at the senior level.
- Prior to representing the senior national team, Giroud did not earn any caps with the national youth teams.
- In 2001, Giroud was called up to the U16 team alongside the likes of Yoann Gourcuff, Yohan Cabaye, and Sylvain Marveaux by coach Pierre Mankowski to participate in a training camp held at the Clairefontaine academy. After the camp, he was not called up for the duration of the 2001-02 U16 campaign.
- On 3 November 2011, in an effort to reward Giroud for his performances domestically with Montpellier, national team coach Laurent Blanc named the striker in the squad to play in friendly matches against the United States and Belgium on 11 and 15 November 2011, respectively.
- Giroud made his senior international team debut for France on 11 November 2011 in a 1-0 friendly win against the USA.
- On 29 February 2012, Giroud scored his first senior international goal for France in a 2-1 friendly win against Germany.
- On 2 June 2017, Giroud scored a hat-trick for France in a 5-0 friendly win against Paraguay at Roazhon Park. In that game, he also becomes the first player to score a hat-trick for Les Bleus in 17 years.
- Giroud has represented France at the Euro 2012, 2016, and 2020, as well as FIFA World Cup 2014 and 2018, winning the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
- Giroud was also part of France’s squad that finished runner-up at the UEFA Euro 2016 as he joints the second-highest goalscorer in the tournament, with 3 goals and 2 assists, and was awarded the Bronze Boot.
- In November 2022, Giroud was called into the French squad for the 2022 World Cup and started as the only striker in the opening match against Australia, scoring two goals and equalling Thierry Henry's 51-goal record for France.
- Since his debut, Giroud has obtained over 110 caps and scored over 50 goals for France.
Olivier Giroud's Wife and Children
Looking at his personal life, Giroud is a married man. He got married to his beautiful girlfriend, Jennifer Giroud who has been together for a long time. The couple have dated for years before getting married in 2011. The couple is blessed with four children. Their names are Aria Giroud, Evans Giroud, Jade Giroud, and Aaron Giroud. In February 2014, Giroud reportedly cheated on his wife with model Celia Kay. After the incident, he issued an apology to his wife but later insisted that he had not committed adultery. At present, he is living happily together with his wife and children.
Olivier Giroud Net Worth, Salary, and Contracts
Giroud is a French professional football player who currently plays for Serie A club AC Milan. He is a very talented football player and with his continuous hard work and dedication, he has accumulated a huge amount of money from his football career which is his major source of wealth. In May 2008, he signed a three-year deal with Ligue 2 club Tours for €150,000. In July 2010, he officially joined Montpellier for a transfer fee of €2 million. In June 2012, he signed a long-term contract with Premier League club Arsenal for a fee believed to be around £9.6 million (€12.4 million). In January 2018, he signed an 18-month contract with Chelsea for a transfer worth £18 million (€20.7 million). In July 2021, he signed a two-year contract with Serie A club Arsenal for a transfer fee of €2.8 million. As of 2022, the net worth of Giroud is believed to be €50 million and he received £3.7 million as a yearly salary from his current club. Besides this, he also earns a decent amount of money from sponsorship, salary from the national team, endorsement deals with various brands including Puma, and more. He has one of the most expensive car collections, including an Audi S5, Rolls Royce, Citroën, and Mercedes C, E, and S class cars. In addition, his market value is around €4 million. As of now, he is satisfied with his earnings and is living a luxurious lifestyle.
Olivier Giroud Height and Weight
Giroud stands at the height of 1.93m i.e. 6 feet and 4 inches tall. He has a bodyweight of 93kg. Moreover, he has an athletic body build. His eye color is blue and his hair color is dark brown. His chest size is 29 inches, his arms size is 12 inches and his waist size is 31 inches. He frequently does exercise to maintain his body. His sexual orientation is straight. Overall, he has got a healthy body with a charming personality. Additionally, he has several tattoos on his body. He has a tattoo on his right arm from Psalm 23 in Latin: "Dominus regit me et nihil mihi deerit" ("The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing).
Olivier Giroud’s Transfer History
- Giroud began his football career playing for his hometown club, Olympique Club de Froges in 1992.
- In 1999, at the age of 13, Giroud joined the youth team of Grenoble and began his career at the club.
- In an attempt to earn some playing time, on 1 July 2007, Giroud was loaned to Istres in the Championnat National, the third level of football in France for the 2007-08 season.
- In May 2008, Giroud signed a three-year deal with Ligue 2 club Tours for €150,000.
- In July 2010, Giroud officially joined Montpellier for a transfer fee of €2 million.
- In June 2012, Giroud signed a long-term contract with Premier League club Arsenal for a fee believed to be around £9.6 million (€12.4 million).
- In January 2018, Giroud signed an 18-month contract with Chelsea for a transfer worth £18 million (€20.7 million).
- In July 2021, Giroud signed a two-year contract with Serie A club Arsenal for a transfer fee of €2.8 million.
Awards and Achievements
Honors
- Won the 2011-12 Ligue 1 with Montpellier.
- Won the 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17 FA Cup with Arsenal.
- Won the 2014, 2015, 2017 FA Community Shield with Arsenal.
- Won the 2017-18 FA Cup with Chelsea.
- Won the 2018-19 UEFA Europa League with Chelsea.
- Won the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League with Chelsea.
- Won the 2021-22 Serie A with AC Milan.
- Won the 2018 FIFA World Cup with France.
Individual
- Won the 2009-10 UNFP Ligue 2 Player of the Year.
- Won the 2009-10 Ligue 2 top goalscorer.
- Won the 2011-12 Ligue 1 top goalscorer (joint- 21 goals).
- Won the 2016 UEFA European Championship Bronze Boot.
- Won the 2017 FIFA Puskas Award.
- Won the 2018-19 UEFA Europa League top goalscorer.
- Won the 2020-21 Chelsea Goal of the Season.
- UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2011-12
- Premier League Player of the Month: March 2015
- UNFP Ligue 2 Team of the Year: 2009-10
- Ligue 2 UNFP Player of the Month: September 2009, November 2009
- UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2018-19
Orders
- Knight of the Legion of Honour: 2018
