Why Olivier Giroud Failed at LAFC: Was He the Worst MLS Signing?

At long last, Olivier Giroud’s time in MLS with LAFC has come to an end. 

On Friday, LAFC announced that they had mutually agreed to part ways, with the French striker set to return to Ligue 1 to join Lille as they look to move on from Canadian international Jonathan David. 

Although many MLS teams have made mistakes when it comes to former European stars in the waning years of their careers, few have underdelivered on expectations as much as Giroud. 

While the all-time goal scoring leader for the French national team came to MLS with hopes of bringing LAFC back to MLS Cup contender status, his on-field production floundered, and he scored just three goals in 24 MLS games.

Now, he leaves LAFC sixth in the Western Conference, after crashing out of the FIFA Club World Cup with losses against England’s Chelsea, France’s Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil’s Flamengo, after qualifying against Liga MX’s Club América. 

Head coach Steve Cherundolo’s system is partially to blame for Olivier Giroud’s struggles with LAFC. / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Tactically, Giroud wasn’t a fit. His aging form couldn’t keep up with the pace of MLS counter-attacking, and he eventually surrendered in the starting spot battle to American journeyman Jeremy Ebobisse and El Salvadorian youngster, Nathan Ordaz. 

In another time—and maybe another team, Giroud could have been a banner-raising MLS superstar. Yet, in head coach Steve Cherundolo’s LAFC, he struggled to get onto passes, and couldn’t adapt his style to a system which emphasized fast-breaks. 

In Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Premier League, where he had tremendous success, he was able to thrive as a traditional No. 9, with most of his touches coming in the attacking penalty area. However, that wasn’t the case at LAFC, where he was able to drop back to help the buildup, and didn’t get many opportunities in the box. 

Through 470 minutes in 2025, he averaged just 6.1 touches per 90 minutes in the attacking penalty area, ranking 32nd among all MLS players in this category. Meanwhile, LAFC as a team had a total of 440 touches through 16 games, which placed them 16th among the 30 teams, a notable reason why he struggled. 

As much as Giroud struggled, Cherundolo’s tactics, and infallible commitment to them is what ultimately doomed the Frenchman’s time in MLS. While some teams with aging superstars have planned around them and found success, that wasn’t LAFC’s playbook with Giroud. 

And in the end, the rigid tactical plan is what brings Giroud back to Lille; potential as a player that could still find success as a traditional striker, and one that in another club and situation could have been an MLS phenom like Luis Suárez, Christian Benteke in 2025, and Zlatan Ibrahimović and Robbie Keane before them. 

Olivier Giroud’s departure from LAFC ahead of the transfer window will allow the club to find a stronger Designated Player. / Kelvin Kuo-Imagn Images

Through his entire time with LAFC, Giroud knew it wasn’t working out. 

Since he struggled to get started in the league, he accepted his reduced minutes. He continued to play in every competition, even scoring the opening goal in the Black and Gold’s 2–1 win over Sporting Kansas City to win the 2025 U.S. Open Cup. 

At the same time, his departure is also perfectly timed for LAFC, opening up a Designated Player spot before the primary transfer window opens, leaving general manager and co-president John Thorrington plenty of options to build his team for the remainder of the season. 

It may not have gone well for Giroud, but unlike other MLS failures, there was little drama surrounding it, and he left the team with a good relationship despite the disappointments. 

Toronto FC’s Lorenzo Insigne has been notably worse than Olivier Giroud and earns significantly more. / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Giroud’s production, especially at his salary of $3.675 million per season, is among the worst in MLS history. However, there have been numerous other failures that have caused more drama and teams to implode, often because they refuse to acknowledge their struggles. 

Former England international Jermain Defoe was one of them, scoring just 11 goals in 19 games across 2014 and 2015 for Toronto FC. The club outdid their mistake in 2021, signing Italy’s Euro 2020 hero, Lorenzo Insigne, to a contract that pays him $15.4 million per year, while he has scored just 15 goals in 66 games. 

Insigne, in particular, has hampered all of Toronto FC’s goodwill and progress on the pitch and in the marketplace, and the 34-year-old has also refused to leave or accept a buyout. 

Meanwhile, LAFC’s El Tráfico foe have had plenty of missteps of their own, with underwhelming tenures for Steven Gerrard and Javier Hernandez during their days with the LA Galaxy. 

As much as Giroud’s time on the pitch did not live up to expectations, his time does not top the list as the worst DPs in league history. Yet, his departure was inevitable, after the match simply didn’t work out in Hollywood. 

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