Along with his career as a journalist, he was, at the beginning of the 1990s, the president of Saint-Germain-en-Laye rugby club, before handing over the role to Marcel Martin.
A graduate of the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, Gilardi began his career as a journalist with an internship in television in 1982 at France Inter, under the direction of Arlette Chabot,[2] where he was eventually taken on.
He was commentator and pundit for the matches in the UEFA Champions League, for all French internationals, and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, alongside Jean-Michel Larqué.
On 24 March 2008, after a dinner between friends, he complained of back pain and suffered a heart attack at 3 a.m. (local time) at his home in Montfort-l'Amaury.
[5] At around 4 p.m, Thierry Gilardi died, aged 49, following a second heart attack,[6] on the eve of a friendly football match between France and England, on which he was due to commentate for TF1.
The tribute of a minute's silence and the wearing of black armbands as a sign of mourning by the French players and the Stade Français rugby team, a few days later, showed the emotions of the world of sport throughout France.