Olivier Giroud has revealed that he speaks to Thierry Henry regularly as the France great congratulates him after goals for club and country. It has been an incredible 2022 for Giroud as he made history with Milan after the Scudetto win, which was heavily boosted by the brace he scored in the derby against Inter, the winning goal against Napoli, the equaliser against Lazio and the brace in the final game against Sassuolo.

The 36-year-old striker wrote yet another page in his decorated career in the 4-1 win against Australia to begin France’s World Cup campaign, as he became Les Blues’ joint all-time top scorer with 51 goals, tied with Thierry Henry.

Milan bought the 36-year-old for €1m from Chelsea in the summer of 2021, and he immediately integrated perfectly with Pioli’s schemes and the club itself, becoming a leader of a young group. Paolo Maldini and Ricky Massara, consequently, have every intention of continuing with the veteran and that is why the renewal of Giroud’s contract for another year is close.

Giroud spoke after the 2-1 win over Simon Kjaer’s Denmark yesterday in which he did not manage to get on the scoresheet and was brought off part way through the second half, with his comments relayed by Calciomercato.com.

“I didn’t manage to score against Denmark. I would have liked to score my 52nd goal yesterday, but you have to be patient. Thierry, however, is in the habit of sending me a message every time I score a goal in the national team or with Milan to congratulate me. It’s always a great pleasure for me,” he said.

Speaking on today’s Téléfoot, France striker Olivier Giroud notably gave an update on his fitness after coming off in yesterday’s win over Denmark with a slight injury from a stamp he was on the receiving end of.

The Milan striker explained that after putting some ice on his foot, he was now feeling better and would be ready to start in the final group stage match against Tunisia, on Wednesday afternoon. However, the veteran adds that the starting eleven is ultimately up to the manager and that the most important thing would be to involve as many players as possible in the campaign.

With France already through to the knockout stages now, though, the forward also pointed out that he would rather avoid facing Argentina. The Lionel Messi-led side bounced back from their opening defeat to Saudi Arabia by seeing off Mexico, and a second-place finish would see them face the winners of France’s group. “We tend to say that to go all the way you need to beat everyone…but if we can avoid Argentina in the last 16, it would be better.”