The former Arsenal and Chelsea striker has admitted he is considering returning to his home country with Lille and extending his career beyond the end of this season.
Olivier Giroud is open to emulating Cristiano Ronaldo by extending his career beyond the age of 40 next season. The former Arsenal and Chelsea striker joined Lille this summer after spending one season with Los Angeles FC. And he returned for 13 years in Ligue 1, scoring three goals in his first eight games.
And Giroud, who celebrated his 39th birthday last month, said: “It could be one year plus another year, but it could be one year. You can’t have regrets. You have to live in the moment and be ready for it all to end one day. But 40 is a number I know.”
“But it will be a group decision with my wife and family. It is important that it is reasonable. If I think I can bring something and the club is also happy with me, we will sit around the table and see how it goes.”
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Ronaldo, who turned 40 in February, signed a new two-year contract with Saudi side Al Nasr in June.
Giroud, who still owns a house in Wimbledon, added: “Lille is perfect for me as it’s very close to London and I want to live there when I finish my career.”
The former Montpellier forward joined Arsenal for £13 million in 2012 after turning down Middlesbrough and Celtic. He scored 105 goals for the Gunners and 270 in total for club and country, but credits his outrageous New Year’s Day volley against Crystal Palace in 2017 as his best.
“My best goal wasn’t that bad,” he told L’Equipe. “Amazing, that was definitely a scorpion kick at Arsenal. You’ll never see that move again, to say the least.”
“Showman? Not a genius, a magician, a dribbler like Neymar, a player who cheers up the crowd with his movements, but in a different way, yes, I am.”
Giroud still holds the French goalscoring record with 57, but he is now just four goals behind Kylian Mbappé.
“He’ll be 27 (in December), so he still has five or six years left. He can play 10, 12 games a season and get to 100 games not too far away, and I hope that happens,” Giroud said.
The four-time FA Cup winner, who also won the Champions League with Chelsea in February 2021, won the last of his 137 caps at Euro 2024, but could be subject to an emergency recall.
“I can’t say never,” said Giroud, who made his French debut in 2011 at the age of 25.
“But in reality, that possibility is very low and we have to think about it seriously.
“For Jean-Philippe Mateta, it’s great that he’s called up. It’s also a great example that at 28 he can taste it all. And he looks like a great person to me.”
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