Veteran Giroud joins AC Milan

MILAN, July 17, (AP): Veteran France striker Olivier Giroud has left Champions League winners Chelsea to join seven-time European Cup winner AC Milan.

The Italian giant said in a statement Saturday that Giroud will wear the No. 9 shirt.

“AC Milan is delighted to announce the signing of Olivier Giroud on a permanent transfer from Chelsea FC,” Milan said, without giving more details.

The 34-year-old Giroud has spent the past nine years in English soccer, where he scored 105 goals for Arsenal and 39 for Chelsea. He is also France’s second-highest scorer with 46 goals, five fewer than former Arsenal star Thierry Henry.

His crucial goals late in the 2019-20 season helped Chelsea qualify for last season’s Champions League, and his six goals in the competition helped the London club win it for the second time.

Giroud was also the Europa

SOCCER

League’s top scorer when Chelsea won it in 2019, when he scored the opening goal in the final against Arsenal, and won the FA Cup a year earlier.

Harry Kane may want out of Tottenham but new manager Nuno Espirito Santo sent a bold message : “Harry is our player.” The England captain has indicated he wants a change of scenery after Tottenham’s seventh-place finish in the Premier League left them out of the Champions League, but Nuno said he expects the striker to return.

“Look, Harry is our player, period. No need to talk about anything else,” Nuno said in his first news conference as Tottenham manager. “Now is the moment for Harry to recover his energy, to rest. When Harry comes again, we have time to speak.” Kane, who is under contract with Tottenham until 2024, is on a break after helping England reach the final of the European Championship.