Thierry Henry has shed fresh light on his transfer from Arsenal to Barcelona including the motivation behind the move
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has explained the real reason behind his shock departure from the Emirates Stadium in 2007 – and insists it had nothing to do with money.
The Frenchman brought the curtain down on a trophy-laden eight-year spell in north London when he swapped the Gunners for Barcelona in a deal worth around £16million. By the time he left, Henry had already cemented his status as an Arsenal great thanks to 226 goals in 370 appearances, two Premier League titles and a key role in Arsene Wenger’s legendary Invincibles side.
At the time, many supporters assumed the move to Spain was financially motivated, with the forward putting pen to paper on a four-year deal with a reported annual salary of £4.6m. But Henry says something far more important drove his decision.
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The 48-year-old made the comments during a sit-down chat with Rio Ferdinand on the former Manchester United and England defender’s YouTube channel. The pair were discussing Lionel Messi when Henry suddenly lifted the lid on why he left to join the Argentinian maestro at Barcelona almost two decades ago.
“Competing is above everything,” he explained. “I love, love, love, love, love, love Arsenal, but competing is above everything for me – especially competing in training.
“It is above everything and people always say, ‘Ok, you love, love, love, love Arsenal, so why did you leave?’ I say, ‘I love my family, but I left my house.’ Because competing is key.
“I didn’t know if I was going to start. I was excited. I was told I wasn’t going to start […] Competing is everything – when I don’t compete, I’m not the same.”
Henry then said he took a pay cut to join Barcelona, much to the surprise of Ferdinand, who had also assumed that the FIFA World Cup 1998 winner had been tempted by a lucractive pay packet from the Catalan giants.
After joining, Henry initially struggled for consistency and even told the media he missed life “back home” in England. But things soon picked up for the Paris-born star, who built up a deadly relationship with fellow forwards Messi and Samuel Eto’o.
The trio scored more than 100 goals combined in the 2008-09 season, guiding Barcelona to a historic treble of La Liga, the Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League. In total, Henry scored 49 goals for Barcelona during a three-year spell before moving to New York Red Bulls in the summer of 2010.
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