Olivier Giroud bids farewell to Chelsea as a cult hero

Olivier Giroud has announced that he will be leaving Chelsea for AC Milan marking an end to his nine-year stay in England.

He is set to sign a two-year deal with AC Milan for an initial fee of £855,000, despite Chelsea taking up an option to extend the Frenchman’s contract at the end of the season.

The forward made the switch from North London to West London in 2018 for a fee of £18m and made 119 appearances in blue where he scored 39 goals and created a further 17.

The Frenchman took to Twitter to bid farewell to Chelsea after a successful three-and-a-half-year spell at the club.

“To all the Blues, to my teammates, to all my coaches, to the whole club, a huge thank you for these special moments.

“I’m starting a new journey with a light and happy heart. Our victories in Fa Cup, Europa League, and Champions League have been magnificent.”

Despite contributing 0.57 goals per game at Arsenal, many were sceptical about what the Frenchman could bring to the reigning Premier League champions when he signed in January 2018.

Many believed Giroud would be little more than an impact substitute after Chelsea had signed Alvaro Morata in the previous transfer window for a club-record fee of £60m at the time.

However, the Frenchman outlasted the Spaniard at the club and played his role in each of the three trophies the Blues won during his time at Chelsea.

Giroud scored the opener in the semi-final of Chelsea’s FA Cup-winning campaign in 2018. The following season the forward was the top goalscorer in the Europa League which he helped the Blues win by scoring against his former club Arsenal in the final.

The 34-year-old was also instrumental in the early part of Chelsea’s Champions League campaign scoring four goals away at Sevilla to secure the top spot in their group, before scoring an incredible bicycle kick in the round of 16 to help Chelsea defeat eventual La Liga champions, Atletico Madrid.

Overall, Giroud finished third top goalscorer in the competition with six goals and was only surpassed by new Chelsea target Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.

However, as the season went on, the new Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel favoured either Timo Werner or Kai Havertz to play the striker role in his team, leading to the departure of the Frenchman.

Despite opting to activate an extension clause in the 34-year-old’s contract Chelsea bid a fond farewell to Giroud, who will move to Milan in search of regular football to try and regain his starting spot in the French national team ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

‘The World’s Best Targetman’

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Chelsea legend Eden Hazard hailed Giroud’s impact on the team in September 2018 following a 4-1 victory over Cardiff in which the Frenchman set up the Belgian for two of his three goals on the day.

“He’s a target man, maybe the best in the world. I think so. When he gets the ball, he can hold it and we can go with him.”

Despite the praise from one of the Blues’ greatest ever players, Giroud has constantly had to prove himself to the various managers that have come through the door.

Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri and Frank Lampard were all reluctant to consistently start the forward due to not fitting the mould of their philosophies.

Despite this, Giroud always kept his head down and remained the ultimate professional on and off the pitch. The Frenchman delivered when given his chance and he supported his various strike partners from the sidelines when not picked.

Ultimately, Giroud’s quality outshone Morata, Gonzalo Higuain and Tammy Abraham in the three years he spent at Chelsea. The 34-year-old was the second choice for Conte, Sarri and Lampard when they took over at Chelsea but turned into the main striker for all of them before their dismissals.

The Frenchman will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the Premier League’s most underrated strikers as many underestimate his technical ability due to his size and stature.

Despite his big frame, Giroud has the finesse and ability to link up play with the quicker and more agile players around him.

Hazard, Willian and Pedro all thrived playing alongside the Frenchman whose intricate flicks allowed the wingers to run through on goal so often.

Alongside his link-up play, Giroud has scored some of football’s most iconic goals. The forward will forever be remembered for the scorpion kick goal against Crystal Palace but also has his fair share of bicycle and overhead kick goals and volleys which will make up an incredible highlight reel of goals for when he eventually calls time on his illustrious career.

Furthermore, the 34-year-old sits just five goals away from overtaking Thierry Henry and becoming France’s all-time leading goalscorer.

However, having lost his starting spot to Karim Benzema at the Euros this summer and a lack of playing time domestically could hinder his chances of breaking that record and therefore a move away from London seemed the most logical move as the Blues look to bring in a big-name striker this summer.

Despite his age, Giroud has shown he still has a lot to offer as a goalscorer and provider and AC Milan will be the beneficiaries of that.

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