Giroud won’t be allowed to play at Paris Olympics after agreeing to join LAFC
According to Fabrice Hawkins, Olivier Giroud (37) will sign with Los Angeles FC after a total agreement was forged between the French striker and the American club.
The Frenchman is entering the final stages of his contract with AC Milan which ends at the end of the season and has been allowed to enter a pre-contract agreement with the MLS side.
Giroud will reportedly sign a contract for one and a half years at LAFC, with an option for one additional year. The veteran striker will join up with the club at the beginning of August which will have a large knock-on effect on France’s Olympic preparations.
The former World Cup winner was rumoured to feature heavily in under-23s manager Thierry Henry’s Olympic plans, as Giroud was likely going to be picked as one of the three over-age players that each squad can select.
France’s plans for the Olympics take another hit
However, with this new development, Giroud’s involvement in the Summer Games hosted in Paris from the 26th of July to the 11th of August has all but disappeared. It seems incredibly unlikely that LAFC would allow their latest statement signing to play in a competition they have the right to veto, especially when he is meant to join the squad while the Games will be ongoing.
The Olympics are not considered an international competition by FIFA and so clubs have the final say on whether they will release their players for the tournament or not. This has been an issue for France in the buildup to the competition with Kylian Mbappé (25) and Antoine Griezmann (33) also unlikely to be allowed to play in the tournament.
