It was necessary an event of this magnitude to vibrate the summer market in Ligue 1. officially, Olivier Giroud is a LOSC player since this Wednesday evening, the announcement having been confirmed at 11 p.m. by the northern club. At 38, the top scorer in the history of the Blues (57 goals in 137 selections) returned to France, thirteen years after his noticed departure from Montpellier, where he had been crowned French champion.
The surprise does not come so much from the return of Giroud to France, as from the choice of Lille for this last European adventure. The former Arsenal striker, Chelsea, Milan and Los Angeles FC signed up for a season with an optional year, a decision motivated by the Lille project and a real desire to transmit his experience. This comeback signs the will of the LOSC to rely on a natural leader to accompany a talented generation, while hoping to shine in the Europa League next season.
Giroud at LOSC: a leader, a goalscorer, a symbol
A winning-win deal for Lille and Giroud
The northern club did not hesitate to offer Giroud a central role in its project, offering it the prospect of playing the leading roles in Ligue 1 and on the European scene. “The LOSC has checked a lot of boxes for me and my family. I hope I can be useful to the team, a leader and a link between young people and staff ”explained the world champion, quoted by the local press. If he agreed to divide his salary by two compared to his American experience, it was above all the sporting and family attraction that weighed.
For Lille, it is a recruitment as symbolic as it is strategic. Giroud, even less prolific during his last visit to Los Angeles, remains a rare offensive asset in Ligue 1.. His experience, his science of the game, but also his impact in the locker room could well transcend the Lille workforce, especially in the key moments of the future European season.
A return that awakens Ligue 1
This transfer marks the return of a major figure in French football in a championship that had seen it explode. For Giroud, this new stage is not a baroud of honor, but a challenge to be noted, with the desire to prove that at 38 years old, there remains a formidable competitor. His presence in Lille will also offer good visibility to Ligue 1, while giving the tone of a transfer window that promises other surprises.
