Colin Abgrall 8:58 p.m., March 19, 2022

Live from the training center of his current club, AC Milan, Olivier Giroud gave an exclusive interview to Europe 1. He answers questions from the editorialist Jacques Vendroux and Cyrille de la Morinerie.

He notably talks about his career, the situation in Ukraine and the France team, which he will find after Karim Benzema's injury package.

EXCLUSIVE

Second top scorer in the history of the France team - 46 goals in 110 selections -, just five lengths behind Thierry Henry, the French striker spent 30 minutes with our journalists to talk about his career.

Met earlier this week at the AC Milan training center, he talks about his childhood, his debut in Ligue 1, his move to the Premier League, his incredible ability to bounce back thanks in particular to his religious beliefs and of course, the team of France, with which he made history.

An exciting interview, to be found in full in Europe 1 Sport with Lionel Rosso.

His childhood in Froges, in Isère: "This is where it all began"

"Froges is my village, it's where it all started before going to Grenoble. I have all my friends and a good part of my family who still live in the Grenoble region. I took my first license there, I did all my classes there until I was 12. I have lasting memories of it. I took the ball after school and went to hit a wall. I worked on my technique and my left foot on this wall and when it wasn't a ball, I would take a tennis ball and I would bang on the front door. I can still hear my father saying to me 'but aren't you sick of it? '

This is where it all started, this is my home."

The beginnings in Montpellier: "I wanted to leave a mark in Ligue 1"

"I revealed myself to the general public with my first selection for the France team. After my title as top scorer with Tours, I had the opportunity to go across the Channel, to Celtic Glasgow. But I wanted to leave a trace in Ligue 1. I had this phone call from Loulou (Louis Nicollin, president of Montpellier from 1974 to 2017) who persuaded me to sign for Montpellier. I do not regret at all having made these two very great years, especially the second with this title of champion and top scorer."

Arsenal, first childhood dream: "I owe a lot to Arsene Wenger"

"Arsène Wenger contacted my agent. When I had the opportunity to realize this childhood dream of playing in the Premier League, I accepted quickly. There were two clubs that made me dream, Liverpool and especially Arsenal. After Euro 2012, I signed my contract before going on vacation. I spent five and a half extraordinary years there. I progressed a lot, learned a lot, and I owe a lot to Arsène. Arsenal was a dreams of signing there."

On his journey: "I will savor when I stop"

"I am very proud of my journey, of the work accomplished so far. I will fully enjoy when I stop. I realize this, but all the clubs where I have played are part of the European elite. something that I couldn't imagine as a teenager, you can't imagine being so lucky. I'm taking full advantage of it. When we take stock, there will also be the French team, a common thread that I am immensely proud. When I make a trophy and shirt room for football and my career, it will be at my house, but I don't know yet where I will be with my family. It will remind me of very beautiful memories. I feel blessed. I won a lot of titles. One of my dreams was the Premier League. It's still something I would have liked to win. Now my other dream isis to become Italian champion with Milan."

On his adventure at Chelsea: "There are more than one who were surprised"

"I was there for three and a half years. I think there are more than one who were surprised to see that I could bounce back at Chelsea. I got this call through a friend of Antonio Conte, who needed a striker. Arsène Wenger recruited Alexandre Lacazette in the summer of 2017 at Arsneal. Six months later, he wanted to bring in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. I had a very simple and honest discussion with him, asking him to let me go and he was a gentleman. He did everything to make it happen, even with a competitor. Everything was done quickly at the end of January 2018."

On his adventure in Milan: "I have this ability to adapt."

we have nine games left to achieve something big for Milan after a few years without trophies.

We have unconditional support from the tifosis who have adopted me well, all the lights are green.

There is also the semi-final return in the Italian Cup against Inter.

The club never achieved this double.

The road is still long, we are going step by step, but it will be undecided until the end.

The double in the derby against Inter: "It made me enter the hearts of the supporters."

"Yes, it gave me a lot of energy and confidence. That day, we were down 1-0. First derby for me. In three minutes, I capsized our supporters. It was an incredible emotion that I will never forget. It's one of the games that matter in a career and it made me go into the hearts of the fans."

On religion and its beliefs: "I would like to go to the holy land"

"I don't hide it. It's kind of my role to be a standard bearer, to talk about that. I was baptized Catholic when I was younger to be my godson's godfather, I always went to evangelistic worship with my mother and I want to renew my baptismal vows in the Jordan soon. I would like to go to the holy land. I like to talk about it, my strength of character comes from this faith that animates me and which gives me the strength to move forward. The word of the Bible leads to a lot of humility. I feel loved and lucky to be in good health and to do what I love."

>> Find Europe 1 Sport in podcast and replay here 

On Zlatan Ibrahimovic: "He has this role of big brother"

"He's great. He's a person with an extraordinary charisma and personality. He has this way of communicating with the media that is his own. He can seem very tough, impressive and sometimes intimidating. But he's a person normal like you and me who have this love for football and high level standards, he passes it on to young people, he takes up a lot of space, he has this role of big brother. Just like me, with our experiences. was a chance to be able to rub shoulders with one of the players I supported when I was younger.When I started, he was already in big clubs.

My friends had given me a jersey of him when he was in Barcelona.

He is a person with whom I exchange a lot.

He has a lot of respect when a player arrives in a group and even more when he has this high level experience.

It's a chance to compete with him to be able to score goals and bring the best to the team.

He was injured so I continued.

It doesn't matter who plays, what matters is being decisive.

It shows that even at 35 or 40, you can continue to perform."

On the French team: "It is not done to refuse a selection"

"110 caps and 46 goals. I beat Platini, Papin and Trezeguet. It's been a blessing, extraordinary years with ups and downs. When you're lucky to have been on top of the world in 2018 , you can only be grateful and say thank you for the chance to make your people proud. By wearing the blue jersey… I'm not talking about the France team in the past tense, because I'm still potentially selectable. It's a common thread throughout my career, it remains a bonus, but the objective is to win the Scudetto with Milan.

The France team is a gift, it's a bonus.

It is not okay to refuse a selection.

If the coach calls me I will answer present as I have always done, that's why I never said that I would stop the France team.

It's not something I will do.

It's something that is part of a career, which can be difficult to manage at times, but I'm doing very well!

With or without me, the France team is the favourite.

For me, with the players of this selection, she is one of the favorites."

On the war in Ukraine: "We must stick together"

"I regularly pray for this, for things to improve and to put a little love in hardened hearts. We must support the Ukrainian people, as AC Milan did with this t-shirt with the mention " Peace for Ukraine, peace for the world. There are a lot of things that move me. Families that are divided, that are fleeing Ukraine. It's so sad to think that in 2022, we are in a time of war. I hope things will improve. When I see a player like Yarmolenko (West Ham player) burst into tears after scoring a goal, it's is very touching. We have to stick together and I think it's great that the countries bordering Ukraine are supporting people fleeing Ukraine."