Thierry Henry Profile

Henry was born Les Ulis, France, a suburb of Paris, where he learnt his trade as a striker.

The Frenchman played for youth clubs from the age of seven, showing great potential at CO Les Ulis, US Palaiseau, and ES Viry-Chatillon, before being recruited into the AS Monaco academy.

With humble beginnings in Monaco and Juventus, after a transfer in January 1999 to north London, Henry would become one of history's best ever soccer players.

After a disappointing seven-month spell at Juventus, Henry rejoined his old Monaco friend, Arsene Wenger, at Premier League side Arsenal for £11million.

His transfer was met with controversy and he failed to score in his first eight games for the London side. However, doubts were very quickly cast aside as Henry scored 26 goals in his first season for the Gunners

Where the Frenchman had developed into a winger at Monaco and Juventus, Wenger very quickly molded Henry into a striker, which would evidently pay off for the London club.

In Henry's third season in England, he helped Arsenal lift their second Premier League title in the 2001/02 campaign.

The striker scored 32 goals in all competitions that season, also helping the Gunners achieve a cup and league double, beating Chelsea 2-0 in the FA Cup final.

The best was yet to come for Henry at Arsenal. Although the Frenchman couldn't help his side retain the league title in the 2002/03 season, Henry would win his third piece of silverware, winning his second FA Cup.

That season he produced a recording setting 32 goals and 23 assists in all competitions and was named the PFA Player's Player of the Year, as well as winning the FWA Footballer of the Year.

Henry seemed invincible as a player, rising as one of world's best. However, in the 2003/04 Premier League season, the striker became an Invincible as Arsenal reclaimed their Premier League crown without losing a single game.

In an achievement that has yet to be matched, Henry paired up with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira, and Freddie Ljungberg to win his second title. It still remains as one of the greatest accomplishments in soccer history.

In that season, Henry scored 39 goals in all competitions, winning the European golden boot, as well as the PFA Player's Player and the FWA Footballer of the Year for the second year running.

In the 2005/06 season, Henry broke Ian Wright's record as Arsenal's record goal scoring, scoring two goals against Sparta Prague in the Champions League to bring his tally up to 186.

Henry also helped Arsenal reach the Champions League final that same year, however they failed to claim European glory with a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona.

Henry would miss most of the 2006/07 season due to injury. However, he still scored 10 goals in 17 games, in a season which would become his last at Arsenal. He joined Barcelona for €24million in the summer of 2007.

He returned to Arsenal for two months in January 2012, where he would score his final goals for Arsenal, ending his tally at 228 goals.

Although his time at Barcelona was short, Henry was influential to their success, especially during the 2008/09 campaign.

In that season, Henry was the final piece to a devasting trio which included Samuel Eto'o and Lionel Messi. Between them, they scored 100 goals in all competitions that season, and became the driving force to the team's treble success.

Henry helped the Catalan side complete a historic treble, winning the Copa del Rey, the Primera Division and the Champions League.

Early in the 2009 season, Henry secured the sextuple, winning the Supercopa, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. A fantastic end to his career in Europe.

In July 2010, Thierry Henry left Barcelona to join the New York Red Bulls as their second designated player. His first MLS goal came against San Jose Earthquakes in a 2-0 win.

That season, the Red Bulls topped the MLS Eastern Conference by one point. However, Henry could not help them to success as the MLS side were beaten 3-2 on aggregate by San Jose Earthquakes in the quarter-finals of the play-offs.

In 2013, Henry helped the Red Bulls secure their first major trophy in their history, by scoring and assisting twice to beat Chicago Fire 5-2 in the last game of the season, becoming champions of the regular season.

In 2014, Henry announced his retirement from soccer. Over a 20 year career, he scored 360 goals, winning the Premier League twice, the FA Cup three times, and the Champions League.

Henry had huge international success, collecting 124 caps for France and scoring 51 goals.

In 1997, Henry made his debut for the French national team, aged 20, with a 2-1 win over South Africa. The Frenchman was that impressive domestically and internationally, he was selected in the 1998 French World Cup squad.

At the 1998 World Cup, Henry scored three goals to become France's top goal scorer in the competition. His goal scoring helped France reach the final and win the World Cup, beating Brazil 3-0.

For his international success, Henry received France's highest honour and was made a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

Henry also won the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup with France.

During qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, Henry was involved in a huge controversy. He handled the ball twice to set-up William Gallas with the winner against Ireland and secure France's place at the tournament.

The incident caused worldwide outrage. However, FIFA decided against awarding Ireland a replay and no further action was taken against Henry, who claimed he was not a 'cheat'.

After retirement in 2010, Henry became a TV soccer pundit and looked set for a career in the media.

However, he became a youth team coach at Arsenal and in 2016 was named as the assistant coach to Roberto Martinez in the Belgium national team. At the 2018 World Cup, Henry was part of the coaching staff that helped Belgium reach the semi-finals, but they were knocked out by his home nation France.

He received a bronze medal after beating England 1-0 in the third place play-off.

In October 2018, Henry parted ways with Belgium and became head coach of former club Monaco. However, he did not replicate his success as a player.

In January 2019, Henry was dismissed as head coach, leaving Monaco in 19th, with four wins, five draws and 11 defeats.

In 2019 Henry returned to the USA to become the head coach of MLS side CF Montreal.

In 2003, Henry married model Nicole Merry, who he had his first child (Tea) with in 2005. However, after his move to Barcelona the couple split in 2008.

Henry is a huge fan of the NBA, regularly making trips to watch the NBA finals.

Henry is also an ambassador for UNICEF, promoting soccer to children.

He has also been the subject of racist abuse, when in 2004, Spanish national side manager Luis Aragonés was caught making derogatory comments about Henry to Arsenal teammate José Antonio Reyes. After this incident, Henry, alongside Nike, started the Stand Up Speak Out campaign against racism in soccer.

After signing a four-year deal with Barcelona in 2010, Henry was reportedly earning €6.8million a year.

When playing for New York Red Bulls, in 2012 his base salary was $5million a year, being the highest paid player in the MLS. His salary dropped to $4.35million a year in 2013.

In 2006, Henry was valued as the ninth-most commercially marketable soccer player in the world. Throughout his career he signed many endorsements.

From the start of his playing career to 2006, Henry had a sportswear deal with Nike, until switching to Reebok, and then to Puma in 2011.

His salary is reported to be €4million, with a net worth of €110million.