AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud has spoken about the idea of renewing his contract for another year, as well as claiming the team have more depth and quality than last season.
Giroud spoke at an event near the San Siro Hippodrome to mark the agreement with SNAIFUN who have become a new Premium Partner of the club, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
He began by speaking about the upcoming Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund at the Signul Iduna Park on Wednesday night.
“The Champions League is a special emotion, we want to do well in this second match, especially because we had to win against Newcastle. It will not be a decisive match but a very important one.
“Experience is very important in these matches, but we must also have chemistry with the youth we have in this team. We are confident but always with humility.”
Milan seem to have recovered well after the 5-1 defeat against rivals Inter as they drew 0-0 with Newcastle United before beating Hellas Verona 1-0, Cagliari 3-1 and most recently Lazio 2-0.
“The post-derby period? Not complicated. We changed some players, we strengthened the team. We have learned and we want to play both the Champions League and Serie A. We have a little more quality and quantity than last year.”
Giroud is on four goals for the season but he has not scored since before the international break and is without an open play goal since round one.
“Personally I want to do everything for the team. When I give assists I’m happy, but I’ve been missing goals for a few weeks and I’ll do everything I can to do it soon.”
The Frenchman turned 37 earlier in the month, and he was asked if he is thinking about extending his contract for another year.
“I’m focused on this year, doing my best for Milan and then we’ll see. Since day one I have been very happy here.”
One of the emerging stars of the Milan side has been Yacine Adli, who barely played last season but has been thrust into a deeper-lying midfield role after Rade Krunic’s injury, adapting well.
“I’m very happy for him, he worked a lot from day one. It wasn’t easy for him because he didn’t have the real opportunity to show his qualities,” Giroud said.
“He will raise the level again, I really like his quality and above all his his mentality: it reminds me of the young me when I started.”
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“We changed some players, we strengthened the team…” Shut up Olivier – you’ll give Maldini’s Heir a heart attack.
You have done your part but I sincerely hope this will be your last season, I can’t continue to rely on a 38 – 39 year old player who can’t run, pressure defenders or score goals from open play
We carried Ibra over a year and by every account it was crucial to success.
I, for one, will be happy to see Giroud be the grizzled vet giving some rest to the new guard and leading the locker room if that is what Pioli and co believe is the right thing to do.
I agree. Oli has been another leader in the locker room for us and still contributes to the team with numbers in terms of goal and assists. He also helps out a lot even for his age when it comes to pressing so another year would be justified given how important he has been. Forza Milan Sempre