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‘I was desperate’ – Olivier Giroud aims dig at Tottenham as he reveals desire to leave Chelsea under Frank Lampard
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ARSENAL hero Olivier Giroud revealed he was so desperate to leave Chelsea he even considered joining Tottenham.
The sly dig at Spurs comes after AC Milan star Giroud opened up about falling behind in the pecking order under old boss Frank Lampard at Chelsea.
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At the time, the Frenchman was trying to force through an exit and Jose Mourinho was keen to bring him back to North London.
Giroud, 35, who won Serie A last season, said: “I was so desperate to leave that I even told Lampard that I’d have joined Tottenham because I knew that Jose Mourinho wanted me.
“In the end, I think it would have been difficult because I had played for Arsenal.
"Destiny wanted me to be here, wearing the Rossoneri shirt.”
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Giroud remained at Chelsea as club legend Lampard was fired and replaced by Thomas Tuchel, who went on to win the Champions League.
But the forward was eventually free to leave as he signed for AC Milan, lifting the title in his first season.
Giroud scored 14 goals in 28 games in Italy, marking a drastic turnaround from sitting as Chelsea's unwanted man.
He said: “At that time, I was not getting regular playing time at Chelsea, I was the third-choice striker, so I tried to find a solution with Frank Lampard.
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“I couldn’t remain in that situation. I wanted to leave, but Lampard told me that he needed a replacement.
“He promised me that I would have had more chances and gave me the opportunity to do so.
"I think I scored eight goals in the final ten games of the season, thank God we qualified for the Champions League.
“At that time, Italian clubs were very interested. At one point, Inter told me that they no longer had money to sign me.
"I had done everything to leave, I also met Lazio’s sporting director Igli Tare, a gentleman, he came to Heathrow airport just to meet me.”
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