Olivier Giroud makes surprise Celtic transfer admission

There is no question about the fact that Olivier Giroud is one of the most decorated and arguably one of the most underrated strikers of his generation. He has won almost everything that there is to win. What is surprising though is how close he was to joining Celtic in the past.

Giroud did not start his career at a big club but instead in Ligue 2 with Grenoble, whose academy he had come through. He would later move on to another Ligue 2 side in Tours, where he would have his breakthrough season.

It was after that that he would move to Montpellier, where he won the Ligue 1 title and then, spells at Arsenal, Chelsea and AC Milan would follow. At one point of time though, a move to Celtic looked very much on the cards and was even the French World Cup winner’s preference.

Giroud’s autobiography ALWAYS Believe: The Autobiography of Olivier Giroud is out now and as reported by The Scottish Sun, he said:

"“I felt invincible that season. I scored 23 goals in 40 games and was the top goalscorer.“I won the Ligue 2 Player of the Year trophy and my salary increased to €15,000 per month.“The phone started ringing and several clubs were interested in me. Montpellier and Monaco, but also Celtic and Middlesbrough.“My agents were working flat out to get me the best contract at the best club.“My preference is Celtic and their legendary stadium, with its 60,000 capacity, is the stuff of dreams.“I could already see myself there.“Strategically, this club would be a great springboard to realise my ambition to eventually play in the Premier League.”"

Ultimately though, he would end up joining Montpellier although Celtic put in a bigger offer on the table:

"“After talking to Montpellier, my agents came to see me with the financial offers from various clubs who are interested, including Celtic and Middlesbrough.“They were offering twice as much as Montpellier. At no point do Alain and Guillaume use this as an argument to try and persuade me to move abroad.“Quite the opposite, in fact. They say, ‘Would you not like to leave your mark on Ligue 1 before you head overseas?’.“It’s a good argument and I signed for Montpellier for three years.”"

A move to Celtic was very much on the cards for Celtic back in 2010

It is safe to say that Giroud must be happy with the decision that he made back then. Not only did he go on to win the Ligue 1 title with Montpellier but he also went to win the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League, multiple FA Cups and several other titles through the course of his storied career.

It just also goes to show how good the Celtic scouting network was doing at that point of time that they managed to try to sign Giroud back when he was in Ligue 2.

Of course, it did not work out in the end and one can only wonder how things would have turned out if Celtic had managed to sign him back in 2010.