Olivier Giroud has left Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC to return to the French Ligue 1 and join Lille on a one-year deal, Afrosport reports.
It marks the 38-year-old’s first time in the French top flight since 2012 when he was with Montpellier and won the Ligue 1 title before moving to Arsenal.
Giroud leaves LAFC after making 38 appearances, scoring five goals and providing three assists. He was recently in action with the American club at the FIFA Club World Cup on home soil where they finished bottom of Group D behind Flamengo, Chelsea and Esperance.
“I’m very happy and excited to be back in France, home,” Giroud said in a statement.
“It made perfect sense to return to Ligue 1 13 years after leaving it. I’ve always considered Lille a top French club.
“It’s a young and talented squad, which needs experienced players like me. So I’ll also be there in that role.”
Giroud spent six seasons with Arsenal, scoring more than 105 goals and providing 37 assists in 253 games for the London side before signing for rivals Chelsea, with whom he scored 39 goals and provided 14 assists in 119 appearances, winning the 2021 UEFA Champions League title.
He then spent three seasons with AC Milan, scoring 49 goals and providing 20 assists in 132 outings, lifting the Serie A title in 2022, before making the move to the United States in 2024.
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Giroud retired from international football last year with record 57 goals in 137 appearances as France’s all-time top scorer and also won the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
