Football: “We will miss him a lot, on and off the pitch”, Giroud’s departure leaves AC Milan with regrets

Olivier Giroud, through his investment and his experience, left excellent memories with his teammates at Mialn AC. XinHua – Augusto Casasoli

Departing for Los Angeles, the Blues scorer left a deep mark within the Milan club.

Striker Olivier Giroud, leaving for Los Angeles, will be missed by AC Milan after his departure "on and off the field" , Italian team captain Davide Calabria said on Wednesday.

The French striker will play his final game for the Milan club in a post-season friendly against Roma in Perth on Friday, in front of an expected crowd of 50,000 at the stadium. ;rsquo;Optus Stadium. The 37-year-old, top scorer in the history of the French team (57 goals) will join Los Angeles FC next season and will end his international career after the Euro, which will debut in Germany next month.

An experienced leader

"He is an important leader on and off the field… especially off the field",” Calabria told reporters in Perth on Wednesday. "He supported me enormously. I will miss him a lot, but I am happy to have these few days together to celebrate his departure", underlined the Italian right-back.

This is really a big blow for the club

"It’is really a big blow for the club", commented John Thorrington, general manager of Los Angeles FC, two weeks ago when the upcoming arrival of Giroud was made official. "I joke sometimes that there are players I would sign even if they never played because of what ;they bring into the locker room, the example they set, their professionalism, their thirst to win, even if they have already won a lot", he then emphasized.

Decisive in winning the 2019 title

Giroud, decisive in winning the championship title in 2019, is not the only departure planned this summer at AC Milan, which is notably looking for a new coach after finishing second of Serie A without managing to seriously worry its great rival, Inter Milan.

Coach Stefano Pioli, whose contract ended in 2025, left at the end of the season after four and a half years at the helm of the red team and black. He could be replaced by the Portuguese Paulo Fonseca, who should not continue in Lille.