Giroud: Zlatan said 'it's a league for strikers'

When MLS club LAFC officially unveiled their newest star Olivier Giroud on Thursday, the France striker revealed that he made his MLS decision based on the advice of former crosstown rival, Zlatan Ibrahimović.

“I spoke to Zlatan — which was the wrong part of the city,” Giroud said of the former Manchester United, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain star, who played the 2018 and 2019 seasons for the LA Galaxy.

“He told me I will enjoy it, it’s a league for strikers…the teams they don’t play to keep the result or defend. They play to score goals and give pleasure to the passionate fans.”

One of his generation’s most successful stars, Giroud has won 11 major trophies and scored nearly 300 goals while making more than 700 club appearances.

The 37-year old French striker signed with LAFC in May.

Giroud comes to the United States after 18 years in the top professional leagues in Ligue 1, the Premier League and Serie A, which included the past four seasons with AC Milan. He has 285 goals in 716 club matches.

“I can bring my experience, my professionalism, my goals, and of course all the advices I can give,” he said. “I will be available for my partners. It’s a different championship compare to Europe which improved a lot the past few years but it’s different. I have to adapt but I’ll be there to bring my contribution.”

Giroud will practice with LAFC for the first time Friday with his first appearance in a game, likely some weeks away.

Giroud nearly arrived in Los Angeles four years ago. He said he met with representatives from the LA Galaxy but told them it was not the right time for him to leave Europe.

Instead, Giroud will wear No. 9 for the Galaxy’s biggest rival.

“I’m delighted to be here in LA, and join a great, young club that’s always doing very well,” Giroud said. “I’m looking forward to be being on the field with the boys to bring my experience. My goals are to be a competitor and always try to give the best for the team.”

Giroud’s final international appearance for France occurred last month in the European Championship. He came off the bench in four games, including a 2-1 loss to eventual champion Spain in the semifinals.

He was a member of the squad that won the 2018 World Cup, and scored a national record 57 goals in 137 matches for Les Bleus.

When Giroud plays in his first game for LAFC, he will be the 17th player to win a World Cup and play in an MLS match.

Giroud’s contract with LAFC goes through the 2025 season, and includes an option for 2026.

He is the second French player on LAFC, joining goalkeeper and former national teammate Hugo Lloris. Antoine Griezmann has also been a source of speculation about possibly coming to MLS and LAFC.

Giroud’s scoring has increased over the past four seasons. After having just four goals for Chelsea in 2020-21, he had 11 in his first season for AC Milan in 2021-22, followed by 13 the following season and 15 during this past campaign.

LAFC trails the Galaxy by two points in the Western Conference, but has two games in hand. LAFC won its first MLS Cup in 2022 and made the final last year before losing to Columbus.

“We are second at the table but the target is to finish at the top,” Giroud said. “And one thing also why I wanted to join MLS, I’ve seen the improvement of the league growing up since 10 years they reached a very good level compared to before.

It is not the first time coach Steve Cherundolo has had to work in a significant summer signing. He did it two years ago with Gareth Bale and Giorgio Chiellini.

Cherundolo told Giroud during the news conference: “You have free rein with the group. You can say anything you want, I have your back.”

“He’s a perennial winner, goal scorer, champion. These are the things that we need to push our club even further,” Cherundolo added. “And most importantly for this particular group, his leadership skills, which I’m really looking forward to seeing.”

It also took Giroud less than 24 hours to discover one of the drawbacks of Southern California — its traffic.

Giroud arrived in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. His introductory news conference with LAFC was delayed by 35 minutes because his family was stuck in traffic en route to the downtown hotel.

“That is the only weak point,” said Giroud with a laugh about the traffic.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.