Olivier Jonathan Giroud (French pronunciation: [ɔlivje ʒɔnatɑ̃ ʒiʁu]; born 30 September 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club Lille.
Giroud began his senior club career playing for hometown club Grenoble, before he signed with Tours in 2008, aged 21. He was named Ligue 2 Player of the Year in 2010 after finishing as the league's top goalscorer. He was subsequently the subject of a then-club record football transfer when he moved to Montpellier in a transfer worth €2 million, winning the club's first Ligue 1 title and finishing as league top goalscorer in 2012. He then joined Arsenal, where he won three FA Cups to help end Arsenal's nine-year trophy drought, and went on to score over 100 goals.
Giroud signed for crosstown rivals Chelsea in 2018 in a transfer worth £18 million (€20.7 million), winning the FA Cup, the UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Europa League, finishing as top goalscorer in the latter in 2019. Giroud then signed for AC Milan in 2021, helping them win the 2021–22 Serie A, which ended the club's 11-year league title drought. After a one-year stint in the United States, playing for Major League Soccer side for Los Angeles FC, he made his return to France and Ligue 1, joining Lille.
Giroud made his senior international debut for the France national team in 2011 at age 25, and went on to earn 137 caps, including appearing in seven major tournaments. He is his country's second highest goalscorer, receiving the Bronze Boot as joint second-highest goalscorer as France finished runner-up at UEFA Euro 2016. He later won the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League, the 2018 FIFA World Cup and finished runner-up at the 2022 World Cup, where Giroud again received the Bronze Boot.
Olivier Jonathan Giroud was born on 30 September 1986 in Chambéry in the Rhône-Alpes region, and was raised in the nearby village of Froges, close to Grenoble. He is of partial Italian descent through both his paternal and maternal grandmothers (Yvonne Avogadro and Antonia Gaiatto).
Independently of his professional career, Giroud, after obtaining his baccalaureate in economics and social sciences (ES), completed a second year of a degree in science and techniques of physical and sports activities (STAPS) at the Joseph Fourier University, in Grenoble.
Giroud began organised football playing for his hometown club, Olympique Club de Froges. He spent six years training at the club before joining professional club Grenoble at the age of 13.
Giroud spent five years developing in Grenoble's youth academy before signing his first professional contract at the age of 21. He later admitted that signing his first contract was an important part in his development as a player, stating "It took me signing my first professional contract to become aware of my abilities. If you [a club] trusted me, it was because I must have had some qualities." Ahead of the 2005–06 season, he was promoted to the club's reserve team, which was playing in the Championnat de France Amateur 2, the fifth level of French football. Giroud quickly became an important player in the team scoring 15 goals in 15 matches. His performances over seven months with the reserve team resulted in the player being called up to the senior team in March 2006 by manager Thierry Goudet. Giroud made his professional debut on 27 March appearing as a late-match substitute in a 1–1 draw with Gueugnon in Ligue 2. He remained a part of the senior team for the rest of the campaign making five more substitute appearances.
Giroud was promoted to the senior team permanently for the 2006–07 season by new manager Payton Pouliquen and Nicola Malgeri and was assigned the number 22 shirt. After appearing as a substitute in the team's first league match of the campaign, he made his first professional start in a 2–1 defeat away to Niort playing the entire match. On 26 February 2007, Giroud scored his first professional goal netting the injury time winner against Le Havre. He described the goal as "a fantastic memory. I could not dream better for a first pro goal". A month later, Giroud made his third start of the campaign against Gueugnon. In the match, which ended 0–0, Giroud incurred his first professional red card. He finished the campaign with 18 total appearances and two goals as Grenoble finished in fifth place.
In an attempt to earn some playing time, Giroud spent the 2007–08 season on loan at Istres in the Championnat National, the third level of football in France. Under the tutelage of manager Frédéric Arpinon, he continued his development as a striker and, in his second match with the club, scored his first goal in a 2–1 win over Laval. Two weeks later, Giroud scored goals in back-to-back matches against Vannes and Créteil. He scored his first double of the season in a 2–0 win against Arles-Avignon. A fortnight later, Giroud converted two goals again, this time in a 3–2 win over Pau. After going through the months of November and December without scoring a league goal, Giroud returned to form in January scoring goals in a 3–2 defeat to Vannes and a 2–0 win over Beauvais. He finished the campaign by scoring goals in April league fixtures against Paris and Martigues, which brought his total goal tally with Istres to 14. Of the 14 goals, Giroud only scored four at the Stade Parsemain, Istres's home stadium.
After a successful loan stint, Giroud returned to Grenoble with hopes of receiving some significant playing time as the club was now playing in Ligue 1. However, club manager Mehmed Baždarević, who was hired while Giroud was on his loan stint at Istres, deemed the player surplus to requirements and, subsequently, listed him for transfer. According to reports, Baždarević had declared that Giroud "did not have the level to play among the elite". In 2011, Giroud reevaluated his departure from Grenoble stating "I am neither resentful nor vengeful. I am just disappointed with what happened to Grenoble when there was great potential".
On 28 May 2008, it was reported that Giroud had agreed to a three-year deal with Ligue 2 club Tours. The striker was lured to the club by sporting director Max Marty who had previously served as the chief executive officer of Grenoble, Giroud's former club. Giroud was also fond of Tours's manager Daniel Sanchez stating "It's always a plus to have a former striker as a coach. His advice to me really helped a lot. With him, I progressed in my positioning and also in front of goal". Giroud was given the number 12 shirt and, due to injury, made his club debut on 3 September 2008 in a 2–1 defeat to Boulogne in the Coupe de la Ligue. He made his league debut a week later playing the entire match in a 1–0 win over Nîmes. A month later, Giroud scored his first goal for the club converting the opener in a league match against Lens. In the second half, he scored another goal to cap a 3–1 win. Two weeks later, Giroud scored his third goal for the club in a victory over Ajaccio.
In the Coupe de France, Giroud scored five goals in two matches. In the eighth round of the competition, he scored the team's only goal in a 1–0 win over semi-professional club Pacy Vallée-d'Eure. In the ensuing round against Réunionais club Jeanne d'Arc, Giroud scored four goals in a 7–1 win. Tours would later be eliminated in the next round by Lorient. After his four-goal display against Jeanne d'Arc, Giroud followed up the performance by scoring goals in back-to-back league matches against Montpellier and Metz. After a double against Nîmes on 20 February 2009, the striker suffered an injury, which forced him to miss three league matches. After making two substitute appearances on his return, in his first start since the injury on 3 April against Angers, Giroud scored the team's opening goal in a 3–1 win. Giroud later re-aggravated the previous injury in training, which led to him missing the entire month of April as Tours were contesting a promotion battle with several clubs. Despite losing Giroud, the club went unbeaten in the four league matches he missed. On his return against Boulogne on 8 May, Giroud scored his final goal of the season in a victory. In Tours's final three league matches of the campaign, the club failed to achieve a win, which resulted in the club failing to earn promotion to Ligue 1. Giroud finished the season with 27 total appearances and 14 goals.