(Reuters) – France striker Olivier Giroud intends to retire from international football after next month’s European Championship, saying he wants to make sure he does not play “one season too many”.
Giroud, who left AC Milan to join American Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC earlier this month, has made 131 appearances for France and was a key part of their World Cup-winning squad in 2018.
With 57 goals, the 37-year-old is the men’s national team’s all-time leading goalscorer, having overtaken Thierry Henry during the 2022 World Cup.
“To be honest, this will be my last competition with Les Bleus. Obviously, I’m going to miss it a lot,” Giroud told L’Equipe in an interview published on Thursday.
“But I think the French team will be over after the Euro. We need to make way for the youngsters. You also have to be careful not to have one season too many. You have to find the right balance…
“I’ve always said that I was going to stop when my body asked me to. I think I’ve got two good years left. But as far as the French team is concerned, I think that’ll be the end of it.”
France, who were knocked out by Switzerland in the last 16 of Euro 2020, last lifted the trophy in 2000. They will face Austria in their Euros group stage opening game on June 17, before taking on the Netherlands and Poland.
Asked if he had any objectives for the European Championship, Giroud said: “No, I really don’t.
“It’s really the desire to go as far as possible in the competition with this generation that drives me.
“If I win, apart from the Premier League, which is very difficult to win, I could say I’ve won everything… After that, I’ve heard a lot about the 60-goal mark for the national team. We’re watching, but it’s not an obsession.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry)
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