Thierry Henry's Biography

Who is Thierry Henry?

As a 14 year old, Thierry Henry was picked for the French Football Association Clairefontaine Academy. Among his classmates were Louis Saha, Nicolas Anelka and William Gallas.

Arsene Wenger saw the potential in the 16 year-old Thierry Henry and signed him as an apprentice for Monaco.

Due to his huge potential he was called up for the French World Cup squad. Thierry Henry had very little competition as there were no proven goalscorers in the French squad. Trezeguet seemed to be the future but was only 20 years old so had very little experience.

In France's first group match against South Africa Thierry Henry scored a goal late in the second half, with a superb chip over the keeper. Then, against Saudi Arabia, Henry took his chances scoring two goals.

From there the tournament was mixed for Henry and he didn't play in the final against Brazil but France won 3-0 with Zidane scoring twice.

After the World Cup, Henry had to decide where to play his football and he ended up playing for Juventus. However, playing on the wing did not seem to suit his game, which looked like it could benefit from a change. Wenger provided it and for £10m Henry moved to Arsenal.

Wenger was sure Henry's natural position was up front and always played him there.

After some good form at Arsenal he was called up to France's Euro 2000 squad and France won in an exciting final against Italy which went to extra time. Thierry Henry had a good tournament.

After joining Arsenal in August 1999, Thierry Henry has played consistently well and he has been rewarded with many trophies and awards including two premiership titles.

Thierry Henry's great pace, skills and goalscoring has made him a favourite with the Arsenal fans, and in October 2005 with a couple of goals against Sparta Prague, Henry beat Ian Wright's record to become Arsenal's all-time top goal-scorer.

Thierry Henry was named in the French World Cup 2006 squad.

After a slow start, Henry and France both played well. France secured a place in the finals and Thierry Henry was selected as part of FIFA's All Star Team featuring the 23 top players at the 2006 World Cup.

The 2006/7 season was a slightly disappointing one for Thierry Henry, who was hampered by injuries.

On 23 June 2007, it was revealed that Thierry Henry was leaving Arsenal to go to Barcelona in a £16.1 million deal.

He had been Arsenal's all-time record goalscorer, with 226 goals in 370 games between 1999 and 2007.

Soon after his move to Barcelona it was revealed that Thierry Henry and his wife of four years, Claire Merry, who models under the name Nicole Merry, were splitting up.

Claire Merry and Thierry Henry officially divorced on September 3, 2007.

In October 2007, Thierry Henry admitted that he was not playing as well for Barcelona as he was for Arsenal and said: "I have to adapt to the club and the team and not the other way round and that takes time."

In 2009, Thierry Henry played in the Barcelona side that beat Manchester United to win the Champions League final.

In July 2010, Thierry Henry left Barcelona to join Major League Soccer side New York Red Bulls.

His time at Barcelona had not been a huge personal success, nevertheless Henry managed to score 49 goals in his three years with the club.

On 30 December 2011, Arsene Wenger revealed that Thierry Henry looked set to join his former club Arsenal on loan.

After a very brief spell at Arsenal, Thierry Henry returned to the New York Red Bulls before retiring in 2014.

Subsequently, he has appeared on TV as a football pundit.

Henry was assistant coach of the Belgium side that came third in the 2018 World Cup.