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Football

29th Mar 2018

Olivier Giroud threatened to storm out of interview after media’s interest in teammate

It doesn't take much to annoy him

Darragh Murphy

If Olivier Giroud is speaking to you, you’d better not lose interest in the conversation.

Giroud threatened to walk out of an interview after France’s 3-1 victory over Russia midweek when he suspected that reporters were more interested in speaking to international teammate Kylian Mbappe.

Giroud didn’t start the game as Les Bleus boss Didier Deschamps decided to give Paris Saint-Germain’s Mbappe the responsibility to lead the line in the friendly.

Mbappe scored in both halves while Giroud failed to find the net in his 18-minute cameo and it seemed like the Chelsea centre-forward was in a terrible mood following the game.

As Giroud kindly offered his time to reporters, he was struck by how the journalists’ eyes were drawn to Mbappe, who was walking behind Giroud.

Rather than ignore the distraction, Giroud asked the reporters if they’d prefer to speak to the teenage sensation and began to walk away from the mixed zone.

“You want to see him? Go see him then!” he said.

The journalists quickly realised that they’d disrespected the former Arsenal forward, with one urging him to return and see out the interview but it was clear that he wasn’t happy.

Giroud may struggle to nail down a starting place for France at the World Cup in Russia, with the likes of Mbappe, Anthony Martial, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele all vying for places in the front three.