Chelsea secretly extended Olivier Giroud’s contract in April throwing AC Milan transfer in doubt

CHELSEA have confirmed that they have secretly taken up the option to extend Olivier Giroud’s deal back in April.

The Frenchman – whose current deal was due to expire at the end of this campaign – is now contracted to Stamford Bridge for another year.

This season, he has largely been restricted to the bench aside from a seven-goal December and last started a game for Thomas Tuchel in March.

And he looked to be nearing a deal to join AC Milan on a free transfer only for the move to be put in doubt by the announcement of his new deal.

Blues director Marina Granovskaia told the club’s website: “Olivier has been such a crucial part of so many big moments for this club, from his contribution to our FA Cup victory in 2018 to scoring 11 goals on the way to winning the Europa League in 2019.

“He has continued to score significant goals, and we will never forget his effort against Atletico Madrid on the way to winning the Champions League this season.

“With so much to still to play for, there was only one decision we could make when we exercised the option to extend his contract back in April.”

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Giroud has helped Chelsea win the Champions League, Europa League, and FA Cup since arriving from Arsenal in 2018.

He previously won the FA Cup three times in six years with the Gunners.

Giroud’s new deal comes shortly after Chelsea confirmed that they had also taken up the option to extend Thiago Silva’s contract.

The Blues triggered the new year-long deal clause for their veteran centre-back just hours after boss Tuchel signed on until 2024.

Granovskaia said: “When we brought Thiago Silva in last summer, we knew we were adding a world-class player to the squad.

“Thiago has duly shown everyone at Chelsea his immense quality throughout this season, and he has had a huge influence on and off the pitch for us.

“We said when he signed that we hoped Thiago would add new trophies to his impressive list of honours, and he has done just that with our success in the Champions League this weekend.

“We now hope that he carries on in exactly the same fashion in the coming year.”

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk