Olivier Giroud has finally swapped shirts with an Australian player who the Frenchman snubbed at the World Cup by claiming he doesn’t speak English.
Scottish native Jason Cummings was part of the Socceroos squad that lost 4-1 to France at the Qatar World Cup, but despite the hammering, he went on the pursuit of a Les Bleus shirt after the game. However, he left the Al Janoub stadium empty-handed as the French squad snubbed the chance for a shirt swap.
After being turned down by “top boy” Kylian Mbappe, Cummings set his sights on Giroud’s top, but was met with the same nonplussed response from the AC Milan striker who he claims walked past him, pretending he couldn’t speak English, despite spending several years in the Premier League in successive spells at Arsenal and Chelsea.
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Giroud went on to troll Cummings by posting a shirt of his Australian counterpart Jackson Irvine with the witty caption: “Hi @jacksonirvine How is my English mate?” But now the pair have buried the hatchet and finally swapped shirts, to the delight of Cummings who posted a snap of him holding Giroud’s top, and one of the 36-year-old holding his.
The only snag was that it was Giroud’s Milan jersey, not his France one. But former Rangers star Cummings didn’t mind and wrote whilst referencing their previous encounter: “What a legend @oliviergiroud. Finally got my hands on your jersey haha.
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“Your English is better than my French mon frère. Top man and all the best for the season. Enjoy the Vegemite bro.”
Cummings’ shirt exchange with Giroud delighted fans and peers who flocked under the post to comment on the transaction. One person said: “Just shows you how a class act a great striker can be sending his shirt, decent of Giroud to do the same.”
And a second user quipped: “Sign it & send it back to him.” While a third urged him to flog the top, adding: “Ebay it now.”
Despite their brutal loss to France, the Socceroos made it to the last 16 of the World Cup where they were sent home by eventual tournament winners Argentina. But after the match, Cummings got to share a handshake with Lionel Messi who spared him a minute, unlike Mbappe and Giroud.
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