Speaking in an interview with Téléfoot, 33-year-old French international and Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud looked back on a January transfer window during which he tried to quit the London club.
“I saw myself elsewhere after experiencing a complicated six months. I did everything I could to leave Chelsea, but they did not want to let me go unless they could get a replacement. Inter Milan was my priority with contacts as well with Lazio and Tottenham. But the circumstances brought Chelsea to block me. This was not my choice. Aside from that, either you sulk or you come back fighting to win your place. The coach promised me more playing time, he kept his word. I simply took my chance. I knew that it was not prudent to go on strike, or to try and mess with the atmosphere in the dressing room. Because that is not me, and because I knew that there was a large chance that I would stay at Chelsea.”
“(Lyon President Aulas) did call me. I told him that I was flattered but that my priority, at the time, was Inter… Deschamps warned me. We briefly spoke about the MLS, and no, that was not an option for me if I wanted to be at the Euros.”
On EURO 2020:
The Euros remains a big objective for me, well, if it actually takes place… Seriously, it is always a source of enormous disappointed not to be selected and I hope that my recent performances with Chelsea will convince the coach to call me up.
