Olivier Giroud appears to suggest that he didn’t mind joining Tottenham last year as he struggled for a game-time at Chelsea, despite his past stint at Arsenal.
The Frenchman left the Emirates for Stamford Bridge in 2018, following the arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Arsenal in the same transfer window.
He had helped the Blues to defeat Arsenal in the final of the 2018/2019 Europa League.
However, he struggled for game time in the next campaign and was desperate to leave Stamford Bridge.
Several clubs wanted to sign him and one of them was Tottenham. The striker has now revealed that he didn’t mind joining them at the time because he just wanted to play.
He concedes that it would have been a very unusual move considering his past with Arsenal, but says it is part of what they have to put up with as footballers.
When discussing the transfer to the Tottenham Stadium, he told The Daily Mail: ‘Well, there was a very small chance,’ he smiles. ‘I said to Frank I was so determined to leave and play. I told him I had Lazio, Inter and, yes, even Tottenham.
‘To be honest, it would not have been a good idea for me as a Gooner for five and a half years to go to Tottenham, would it? I would have disappointed so many people but this whole thing is part of what footballers have to deal with.’
Mercenary haha. Whatever, he did his best while he was here, and proved a lot of people wrong during his time at Chelsea and with the French national team. Good luck to him.
If he had an opportunity to play, he was supposed to decline because they are our rivals?
Pure silly, in my opinion. Imagine us peasants turning down a job offer at a rival company, or declining a promotion, folly I say!
Perhaps something to it if he grew up with the club, and spent years here. Perhaps a topic if say Tony Adams made the comment, but otherwise a non-issue for me.
Let’s not forget that in 2021 football is as much a job to the players as it is a business to the players.
If you got fired at Barclays Bank London branch and were offered a job at Standard Chartered London branch are you going to turn it down because you worked at Barclays?
Only club legends (i.e top management) remain loyal. Other players (middle and lower management) come and go.
And to be fair we haven’t had many legends in the past 15 years and even Fabregas might fail to make the cut to be honest though he was a class player.
* a business to the owners.