Giroud Admires Young Moroccan Star Ayyoub Bouaddi: 'A Mix of Vieira and Busquets'
June 20, 2026 · Global
Olivier Giroud expressed his admiration for Ayyoub Bouaddi, the young Moroccan midfielder who performed brilliantly at the World Cup. Giroud believes Bouaddi has great potential and is likely to join Real Madrid.
Olivier Giroud expressed his admiration for Ayyoub Bouaddi, the eighteen-year-old midfielder from Morocco, who impressed so much in the World Cup opener against Brazil. In his interview with the BBC, Giroud said that playing with Bouaddi at Lille was a pleasure. "He will play at Real Madrid next year," said Giroud confidently.
Giroud, who returned to the French League last season, admired Bouaddi's performances, who always showed extraordinary abilities. He described Bouaddi as a "calm, thoughtful and confident" player. According to him, Bouaddi is a versatile player, similar to N'Golo Kanté. "I am impressed by his maturity. Having him in the team is a blessing. Morocco should be very proud to have him," added Giroud.
Bouaddi has come through almost all levels of the French youth team, but chose to represent Morocco last May. Giroud added that from the first day Bouaddi joined Lille, he had shown his extraordinary talent.
"And this is just the beginning, because he is still very young. I talked about him with friends, and they sent me photos of Patrick Vieira and Sergio Busquets. They said he was a mix of the two. Even though he is not as good as Busquets in terms of technique, there are similarities. He may not be as strong as Vieira yet, but his physique will develop over time," said Giroud.
The 39-year-old striker, who is under contract until 2027 with Lille, believes that Bouaddi will soon shine at a big European team. "The only thing he needs to improve is his finishing. We often talk about this in the team. He needs to be more aggressive when approaching goal. If he can do that, I'm sure he will play at Real Madrid next year. It is very difficult to keep him, and his price could reach more than sixty to seventy million euros," stressed Giroud.