Ibrahimovic said goodbye to AC Milan after last season, and it will be Giroud's turn this summer, the difference is that the French center will not retire directly, but will switch to the United States to join Los Angeles FC, although the signing has not yet been officially announced, but all aspects have been finalized, Giroud will sign a one-and-a-half-year contract with the major league team, that is, until the end of 2025, and the contract will also include a one-year renewal clause, if the clause is activated, it means that Giroud will play until the age of 40.
In the summer of 2021, AC Milan spent €2.85 million to sign the 34-year-old from Chelsea, when the Rossoneri were looking for a replacement for Ibrahimovic, only to make one of the most successful deals in the post-Berlusconi era.
In his first season with the Rossoneri, Giroud scored 14 goals and completed four assists in 38 appearances for the team in all competitions, including 11 goals in the league, and he was even more supernatural after entering the second half of the league。
Giroud has been an absolute mainstay of Ibrahimovi's injuries last season, scoring 18 goals and providing seven assists in 47 appearances in all competitions, and 14 goals and nine assists in 36 appearances so far this season. In the last three seasons, the total is 121 appearances, 46 goals and 20 assists, which is a good enough record even for age.
Giroud signed AC Milan on a two-year contract, and in April 2023, the French striker signed a one-year contract extension with AC Milan for €3.5 million a year. AC Milan were in renewed contact with Giroud's agent at the end of last year over a contract extension, with the Rossoneri recognising the French striker's performance and positive role in the dressing room, but given his age, the club could only offer a one-year contract and wanted Giroud to take a pay cut.
However, in Giroud's opinion, although he is 38 years old, he is still in very good physical and competitive condition, hoping for a longer contract, and there is no reason to take a pay cut, and the Frenchman has always been interested in the professional leagues, and has long said that he wants to end his career in the United States.
In February, AC Milan agreed with Olivier Giroud to put his contract extension talks on hold for the time being, with CEO Fulani indirectly admitting that Giroud could leave on a free transfer: "If he wants to stay, AC Milan's door will always be open for him. Last weekend, France beat Chile in a warm-up game, and coach Didier Deschamps confirmed: "Olivier Giroud has joined Los Angeles FC? ”
Champion Collector, Goal Olympics
In addition to the length of his contract and interest in the major leagues, Giroud's choice of Los Angeles FC over AC Milan was also due to his desire to represent the French Olympic team at the Paris Olympics this summer, which was a bit difficult for AC Milan to accept.
Olivier Giroud is a true collector of titles, having won Ligue 1 at Montpellier, the FA Cup at Arsenal, the Champions League at Chelsea, the Serie A with AC Milan and the World Cup with the French national team.
Shortly after the World Cup in Qatar, Olivier Giroud expressed his desire to join the French Olympic team: "It will be a fantastic experience to represent my country at the Olympics on home soil, especially given the lack of an Olympic gold medal in my trophy showroom. ”
During the international break, Giroud once again spoke about the possibility of competing at the Olympics: "I would definitely not go for Thierry Henry's manager's position, he could pick three players over 23 years old, and everyone said they would be Antoine Griezmann, Mbappe and me, so I think it's a good idea. ”
The problem is that Giroud has not yet withdrawn from the French national team, and he started last weekend's warm-up game against Chile! As long as he is not injured, he will definitely be selected for Didier Deschamps' European Championship squad this summer, and may even play in the main team, if he plays in the Olympics next, it means that Giroud will not be rested all summer, and he will turn 38 in September this year!
This is undoubtedly unacceptable for AC Milan, not to mention the risk of injury, and playing at the Olympics means that Giroud will miss the entire pre-season training camp, and his fitness will definitely be affected in the new season. Next season will catch up with the Champions League reform, the group stage will become the Swiss round to play eight games, if the final ranking between 8th and 16th place will play two legs of play-offs, almost every week is a double game, 28 years old may not be able to bear it, let alone 38 years old.
Refusing to "gnaw at the old", Milan is younger
AC Milan have a chance to keep Giroud, but the club's choice is understandable, firstly, it is too risky to give a 38-year-old veteran a two-year contract with an annual salary of 3.5 million euros, and secondly, if Giroud is still indispensable next season, it will mean that the club's team building is in trouble, and it can only "gnaw at the old" year after year.
Whether it is Elliott Group or RedBird Group, the positioning of AC Milan is very clear, not to compete with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Paris and Premier League giants for top superstars, take the young international route, collect talents from all over the world to buy at a low price and sell at a high price, profit and money is the most important, it is of course the best to win the championship by the way, and the sky will not fall if you can't get it.
In previous seasons, due to the presence of several veterans such as Ibrahimovic, Giroud, and Rebic, AC Milan's forward line has been slow to rejuvenate. Last summer, after Ibrahimovic retired and Rebic left, the RedBirds Group immediately brought in 23-year-old Okafor, 24-year-old Chukwueze, 25-year-old Christian Pulisic and 26-year-old Jovic.
Jovic joined the Rossoneri on a one-year free transfer after terminating his contract with Fiorentina last summer. With eight goals and one assist so far this season, his performance as a substitute centre-forward has basically met the team's needs, and a contract extension is a logical one.
But even if he gets a new contract, Jovic will still be positioned as a backup centre-forward next season, and a replacement for Giroud will still have to be found in the transfer market. The Rossoneri's number one target is Bologna's Zirkze, the 22-year-old Dutch centre-forward who came through the Bayern Munich academy and moved to Bologna in the summer of 2022 and has developed into an absolute mainstay this season, scoring 11 goals and providing six assists in 30 appearances.
The trouble is that Bayern added a €25 million buyback clause to their contract that year, and the better Zirkze performs this season, the more likely it is that Bayern will activate this clause, even if Bayern don't need the youngster, they can buy it back and sell it at a high price.
The second target is Sesko, who plays for RB Leipzig, the younger Slovenian striker, who turned 21 in May and has scored 11 goals and provided two assists in 34 appearances for RB Leipzig this season, with a €50 million liquidated damages clause in his contract.
In the summer of 2022, Sesko, who was playing for Red Bull Salzburg at the time, entered the list of Milan reinforcements, and the then director Maldini talked to his agent Elvis several times, but unfortunately the transfer was not approved by the Elliott Group, and now although Maldini has left, there is still Ibrahimovic, Sesko is a loyal fan of the Swedes and is very willing to go to Milan to follow his idol.
Messi is expected to play in the Eastern Conference regular season
Although not as well-known as City rivals Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles FC is also a familiar name - yes, Bale joined Los Angeles FC in the summer of 2022 when his contract with Real Madrid expired, and just five months later, Bale came off the bench in the finals to score the equalizer to help the team beat Philadelphia United on penalties to win the championship.
That championship was also the pinnacle of Los Angeles FC, a club that was only founded in 2014 and officially entered the professional league in 2018, winning the championship in just four years, which is amazing.
Last season, Los Angeles FC continued to perform strongly, finishing third in the West in the regular season, eliminating the Vancouver Whitecaps in the quarterfinals, the Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference semifinals, defeating the Houston Dynamo in the Western Conference finals, and losing 1-2 to the Columbus Crew in the finals. The season started modestly, with two wins, one draw and two losses in the first five rounds with only seven points, ranking sixth in the West.
At the end of last season, legendary Mexican striker Carlos Vela, who had been with the team for six seasons, left the team. The team's current number one star, Gabonese international Denis Buanga, who has played for several Ligue 1 teams, moved to Los Angeles FC from Saint-Etienne for 4.5 million euros in the summer of 2022, scored 20 goals in the regular season and five in the playoffs last season, won the major league Golden Boot, and was linked with Marseille last summer, but ultimately stayed.
Los Angeles FC signed Olivier Giroud to fill the void left by Vela, the 35-year-old Mexican striker, who, like Olivier Giroud, played for Arsenal and helped Los Angeles FC win two regular season titles and one Finals title in six seasons, winning a Player of the Year award and a Golden Boot award, and scoring 14 goals and providing 11 assists in 48 appearances for the club last season.
After the departure of Bella, Los Angeles FC was once limited to a cameo role in the center of the 22-year-old young midfielder Boggs, and Giroud will form a trident with Buanga and Uruguay international Christian Oliveira to challenge for the title again. It is worth mentioning that Inter Miami, where Messi and Suarez play, belong to the East, and there is a chance to meet in the regular season, and the playoffs can only happen in the finals.