Chelsea announced Wednesday that it activated an additional year on Olivier Giroud’s contract last month, keeping the striker in London for a ninth season.
Giroud, 33, had been linked with an exit for some time but found his way into the good graces of Frank Lampard, scoring twice in four-straight matches before the coronavirus pause.
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Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia pointed to Giroud’s fine example amongst the club’s youth, and Lampard is especially pleased to have him around a further season.
“Since I have been back at Chelsea, Olivier has been brilliant as a professional and as a man in general,” Lampard said, via ChelseaFC.com. “He has great qualities to help the squad both on and off the pitch, not only with his talent but with the example he sets every day and the experience he brings to our young squad. I am very pleased that will continue next season.”
The towering striker with the “meaty French forehead” -- thanks Arlo White -- has won four FA Cups, the Europa League, the World Cup, and Ligue 1.
He left Montpellier to join Arsene Wenger at Arsenal in 2012, scoring 105 times for the Gunners before swapping capital homes for Chelsea. He’s scored 21 times in 76 appearances for Chelsea.
Giroud is also three caps from the century mark for France, where he scored six times in 10 EURO qualifiers after playing in every match of Les Bleus’ World Cup run.
Chelsea also confirmed that it’s activated an option year in the contract of goalkeeper Willy Caballero, who is now set through 2020-21. Caballero has started nine matches this season including six-straight when Kepa Arrizabalaga fell out of favor with Lampard.
The deals mean both players will not have to worry about playing beyond the end of their contract year on June 30. It will be interesting to see which clubs make similar decisions on their soon-to-be out-of-contract players.