“Then I’ll kill you”: World Cup winner Olivier Giroud reveals why he had to turn down Borussia Dortmund
Olivier Giroud could also have joined Borussia Dortmund at the start of 2018 – but for good reason he chose a different path.
On a show on the French TV channel Canal+, broadcast on Wednesday to mark his 40th birthday, Giroud looked back on January 2018 in a light-hearted conversation.
Having slipped down the pecking order at Arsenal and fearing for his place in the France national team squad for the 2018 World Cup that summer, Giroud was looking for a move in the winter transfer window. One option was Borussia Dortmund, who were interested in the then 31-year-old striker.
But at the end of January 2018, wife Jen gave birth to the third of their four children together, son Aaron, and was firmly against a move. "Forget it," Giroud said about a switch to Borussia. "She (wife Jen, ed.) told me: 'If you take me to another country now, to Germany - and then to Dortmund as well ... then I'll kill you'," reported the striker, who now plays for Lille, with a laugh as he recounted his wife's remark.
Why did Olivier Giroud join Chelsea instead of Borussia Dortmund?
Giroud joined Chelsea instead for a fee of 17 million euros, which meant he and his family could stay in London. He was also part of a striker domino effect: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left Dortmund for Arsenal and took Giroud's place there, while Michy Batshuayi left Chelsea and became Aubameyang's successor at Borussia Dortmund.
On the pitch, the move worked out too. At Chelsea, he started more often and then led the line as France's first-choice centre-forward on the way to winning the 2018 World Cup. The 137-cap international did not score at the tournament and faced criticism because of it, but he still played an important role in the team of the then coach Didier Deschamps.
After three and a half years at Chelsea, Giroud moved to AC Milan in 2021. He then joined Los Angeles FC in MLS in 2024, but just a year later the Frenchman returned to Europe and his homeland after 13 years abroad. Since then, Giroud has scored 12 goals in 50 competitive appearances for Lille, and his contract expires next summer. The veteran is then expected to end his career, as he has now announced on Canal+ and also to L'Equipe.
