Olivier Giroud has told Telefoot he turned down offers from Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and Roma but chose to join Chelsea for the chance to work with Antonio Conte.
The France international left Arsenal to move across London on transfer deadline day and said the opportunity to link up with Conte was too good to turn down.
“I had an offer from Dortmund, but they wanted a loan. Sevilla were interested, Roma contacted my agent. But when Conte told me he was counting on me, my choice was made,” he said.
“My choice was quite clear and obvious when I knew that Antonio Conte wanted to work with me. I know that Conte appreciates my profile, we work well together.
“I spoke to [France manager] Didier Deschamps about my situation. He did not tell me to join Chelsea, just to change club.”
Giroud added that Pierre-Emerick’s Aubameyang’s arrival at Arsenal made up his mind to move on in order to seek regular playing time.
“The fact is that the coach wanted to recruit a new forward striker [Aubameyang]. With his signing at Arsenal, it was three top strikers, and that’s why I decided to leave,” he said.
“I could have stayed, but I needed some solutions to get back in. I wanted to stay in the Premier League and Chelsea was a great opportunity for me.”
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