Giroud to leave Milan for MLS club Los Angeles

MILAN: Olivier Giroud confirmed on Monday that he will leave AC Milan at the end of the season to end his long career in Major League Soccer.

France’s all-time top scorer Giroud is expected to sign for Los Angeles FC, where his former Les Bleus teammate Hugo Lloris already plays, after three years with Serie A giants Milan.

“I will be playing my final two matches with Milan and will continue my career in the MLS,” Giroud said inaninterviewpublishedonsocialmediabytheclub.

“I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved at Milan in the last three years. My time with Milan might be finishingthisyearbuttheclubwillremaininmyheart.”

For months, reports have indicated Giroud will join longtime Les Bleus team-mate Hugo Lloris at LAFC. Lloris arrived in late December from Tottenham Hotspur.

Giroud signed for Milan from Chelsea in the summer of 2021 and won the Serie A title in his first season with the seven-time European champions.

The 37-year-old, a World Cup winner with France in 2018, has scored 48 goals in all competitions for Milan including 16 this season ahead of Euro 2024 in Germany.

He will wave goodbye to Milan fans at the San Siro in their final match of the season against Salernitana in a fortnight.

Currently with the France national team during the international window, Giroud is lining up to participate in a pair of friendlies against Germany and Chile.

Meanwhile, There was more fan discontent in AC Milan’s 5-1 thumping of Cagliari — who stay three points above the relegation zone — in their penultimate home game of the campaign.

Supporters at the San Siro continued the silent protest they started at last weekend’s home draw with Genoa, with only small bursts of chanting from pockets of fans in the ground coming after Tijjani Reijnders smashed in Milan’s third in the 74th minute.