Oliver Giroud has lived up to his promise and shaved his head after winning the World Cup. The Chelsea striker was one of a number of France players to promise they will do a number of challenges if they win the trophy. Giroud is famous for his chiselled good looks and impeccable beard and hair, so to lose it looks to have been a big shock for the 31-year-old.
Although it is not the close crop some thought it would be – and certainly not done using a razor blade. Adil Rami decided he would fight two-time Olympic gold medal winner Teddy Riner – and got his derriere handed to him. The former Arsenal ace did not get a shot on target during the entire World Cup, despite playing 545 minutes of football.
But Didier Deschamps was adamant all along that the tall No9 was crucial to Les Bleus’ playing style. The former Marseille man said: “I only have one rule, so I will respect it. My wife wants me to do it after the baptism of our son on Sunday.” France ended up beating Croatia 4-2 in a thrilling final, with Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe adding to a Mario Mandzukic own goal to lift the trophy. Giroud and Rami are not the only Frenchmen to pledge various forfeits after their triumph in Moscow.
Nabil Fekir has also pledged to shave his head, while Blaise Matuidi has vowed to cycle from Paris to Turin. Thomas Lemar said he will dye his hair, while Hugo Lloris has the best one of all – a pub crawl in Nice. Get the drinks in, Hugo, we’ll see you there.
Atletico Madrid have approached Chelsea over the possibility of taking Olivier Giroud on loan, according to sources. However, it is believed Chelsea would prefer to do a permanent deal with the Spanish club. Giroud scored three goals in 13 appearances for the Blues last season after joining from London rivals Arsenal in January.The 31-year-old was part of the France squad that won the 2018 World Cup, although he failed to score in seven appearances for Les Blues in Russia.
Although Giroud only joined Chelsea from Arsenal in January, he could be free to leave the club after just six months. The Blues have set their sights on signing Gonzalo Higuain, whose future at Juventus has come under threat following the £88million signing of Cristiano Ronaldo. Maurizio Sarri is hoping to beef up his attack with a deal for Higuain and Chelsea have already reportedly made a £53m bid for him. As far as Giroud is concerned, Atletico, Sky Sports claim, have enquired about a potential loan move for the Frenchman.
But the Blues’ preference is to strike a permanent deal with the Spanish club. Atletico’s main target is AC Milan striker Nikola Kalinic, but supposedly he is waiting for the San Siro outfit to make a decision on his future before he can be allowed to leave. Giroud won the World Cup with France last week and his former club Arsenal tweeted him a classy message.
It read: “From Grenoble to Istres. From Tours to Montpellier. From Arsenal to a regular for #FRA.And now… a WorldCup winner! What a journey you’ve had, Olivier – we’re all so pleased for you.”
Repotts say that Arsenal coach Unai Emery could bring Olivier Giroud back to the Emirates and fans think it’s a great idea. The Gunners have already had a busy summer with Stephan Lichtsteiner, Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi all signing on. And now they could make a shock move to re-sign Olivier Giroud.The Frenchman only left the club in January in a move that is believed to be worth around £18m. But according to sources, new Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is happy to let Giroud go in order to secure Gonzalo Higuain from Juventus.