World Cup winner’s wife stopped BVB coup: „Then I’ll kill you“ | OneFootball

A world champion almost signed for BVB in 2018. He has now revealed why his wife prevented the move to Dortmund.

Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Chelsea were part of a remarkable transfer carousel at the start of 2018. Right in the middle of it was Olivier Giroud. The French striker could have ended up at BVB at the time, but ultimately decided to stay in London. Years later, he has now revealed the role his family played in that decision.

At the time, Giroud was under contract with Arsenal, but he was no longer an undisputed starter there. With the upcoming World Cup in mind, the striker wanted to play regularly and therefore considered changing clubs. Dortmund were also interested in the then 31-year-old.

There was, however, one decisive snag for Giroud: his wife Jen was heavily pregnant and gave birth to their son Aaron at the end of January. The prospect of leaving England and moving to Germany in that situation did not exactly fill her with enthusiasm. Speaking to Canal+ on the occasion of his 40th birthday, Giroud recalled the talks at the time. As far as a transfer to Dortmund was concerned, it was clear to him: “Forget it.”

Why Giroud’s move to BVB fell through

His wife had made her position pretty clear beforehand: “If you take me to another country now, to Germany — and then to Dortmund on top of that … I’ll kill you,” Giroud recounted with a laugh. In the end, the solution was found just a few miles away. For around €17 million, the Frenchman moved across London to Chelsea. At the same time, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left BVB and joined Arsenal. Dortmund, in turn, responded by signing Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi on loan.

Photo: IMAGO

With the World Cup also in mind, the move served its purpose. Giroud featured more regularly at Chelsea and was included in France’s squad for Russia just a few months later. In Didier Deschamps’ team, he was a regular in attack on the way to the title, even though he did not score a goal of his own during the tournament.

After further spells at AC Milan and Los Angeles FC, Giroud is now back in France playing for Lille OSC. However, his long professional career is likely nearing its end: the now 40-year-old recently suggested he could retire when his contract expires next summer.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.